For Lack of Twilight Parodies
by oswin-the-girl-who-can
Summary: AU Parody Three things were driving Sakura absolutely insane.  And these were all thanks to a sparkly vampire, a werewolf with anger management problems, and a legion of crazed fangirls.  And WHAT'S with all the angst!  SakuXFai, SakuXKuro, SxS, KuroXFai
1. Welcome to Spoons

**A/N: Okay, this is pretty random and something that I probably would not have done two weeks ago. Luckily, my sense of humor has (at long last) won out against my actual sense. Plus, I'm in a really bad TRC kick, and this was really fun to write. Not really much to say right now, so enjoy the fic!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE (don't own Cardcaptor Sakura either, since this has some CCS elements) _nor_ any books in the Twilight Saga. CLAMP and Stephanie Meyer have those honors (though I'd give anything to switch with you, CLAMP! ... call me.)**

**

* * *

**

There were three things driving Sakura absolutely insane.

_First, of all the places in the world to set a story… someone had chosen Forks, Washington? Just because it was cloudy?_

_Second, the name was really… is "in bad taste" the best way to put it? Seriously though, "Forks"? For a place with vampires and werewolves?_

_And third: if she didn't become an angst-filled, depressed, and utterly socially awkward lovesick teenager, blood would be spilt. Who's blood that may be, she wasn't quite sure yet. But it would be, like,_ really_ bad._

_And… wait, was that three already? Oh, one more then. _Fourth_, she had to choose whom to spend the rest of her life with. Bachelor number one: a blood-sucking sparkly vampire. Bachelor number two: a werewolf that was in great need of anger management classes. Who would get the rose? Apparently only fangirls held the power to decide… and they would probably be the ones to spill the blood, in case you were wondering._

_

* * *

_

Chapter One: Welcome to Spoons... Huh? Oh, Well, Spoons Sounds Cooler.

"Ah, I slept in late!"

Sakura raced down the stairs, tripping over the pair of blue jeans she had randomly torn from its hanger in her closet. It was her first day in a new school — being late would not be a good first impression.

"Don't say I didn't try to wake you, Monster." A young man was sitting at the breakfast table eating the pancakes he had prepared.

Sakura smashed her foot on her brother's with as much force as she could. Touya was such a pain! Ignoring her fiendish brother's cries and moans, she grabbed a cold slice of toast and slathered grape jelly on one side before all but stuffing it down her throat. She grabbed her backpack and the keys. "I'm leaving! Have a good day at work!"

She heard Touya calling out to her as she climbed into the old Chevy pickup. "Try not to act like yourself! Maybe you'll meet _some_ friends!"

Muttering some choice words to herself, she started the ignition and shifted into reverse; the Chevy gave a nasty yet somehow comforting lurch as it backed out. Narrowly avoiding the cruiser, she made her way into the street, shifted to overdrive (yes, it was that old), and made her way through the insanely green landscape.

Perhaps some back-story is in order? Let's see… introduction of main character: check. Vague and corny prologue: check. No real plot elements encountered: check. Yup, seems now's the time.

Sakura Kinomoto: sixteen years old, high school junior, and impossibly cheery. Until just yesterday, she had lived and attended school in her wonderfully beautiful desert world — Arizona. She had loved everything there: the people, the landscape and the heat from the summer sun that never seemed to scorch her pale complexion.

So… why the hell would she go to Forks, Washington, which had to be the absolute most gray, rainy, cold, and utterly depressing town in all of the world?

Well, earlier in the year Touya had moved all the way to the dismal city to be some lousy police officer. To be completely honest, Sakura thought it was ridiculous. Why he couldn't just search for an open slot for the job someplace in Arizona or maybe even Nevada, she would never know. At the time, however, she had considered it a blessing. No more annoying brother griping at her or threatening to beat her boyfriends to a pulp. With him gone, the house would be left to just her and her father, Fujitaka.

Her feelings toward the subject changed a few months after Touya up and left. See, Sakura's mother Nadeshiko had passed away quite a while ago, when Sakura was only three years old. Sakura refused to be one of those angst-ridden teens just because a parent had passed away, so suddenly wishing for a female presence in the house wasn't the problem. Actually, Fujitaka was all that she really needed, seeing as he was the absolute best father in the entire world. After all, how could she really miss something she couldn't remember?

The problem was, without Touya there, Fujitaka was devoting his time to making sure Sakura was perfectly fine. And that was definitely _not_ fine with Sakura. He had too much to worry about as it was, with his job at the University. When he was called to help with an archeological dig, she made her mind up — she was going to go live with Touya.

After all, she'd be out of the house in less than two years anyway. Of course he'd been shocked. But after many long discussions and mighty tempting offers from Fujitaka, she made her decision final.

Then her brother had been so… _nice_ as to get Sakura a car for when she arrived. Turns out it was an extremely old and decrepit '53 Chevy pickup truck that she had suspected he had only gotten because it was free and was sure to make her mad. To his chagrin, she loved it. Something about it just seemed… right. Plus, it was better to love it and annoy the hell out of Touya than to mope and complain, giving Touya complete satisfaction.

That's the basic story. Not too terribly exciting. But of course, that's without super-powerful vampires and werewolves chewing up the furniture.

A few miles away from the house, the rain started pouring down like she'd never seen in Arizona. Careening out of control and hydroplaning a couple of times, she finally slowed to a measly ten miles per hour. Great, now she'd be late for sure.

Within hardly any time at all, though, she saw the sign for the high school, with SPARTANS on it in big red letters.

It didn't take long to find a parking spot. How could it, with only 358 people in the entire school? The attendant in the office gave and explained Sakura's schedule to her before she headed off, just a little late, to her first period class.

First period was a piece of cake, seeing as she had studied most of the topics already. The only problems were the stares from the other students. Since the town was so small, the news that Officer Touya's younger sister was coming to Forks was probably the hottest gossip. Ah well, it would pass in a few days at time, so Sakura returned the smiles and acted as friendly as possible.

The bell rang. As she packed away her new textbook and the notes she had been taking, the girl in the desk next to her approached. She had long black hair that curled and waved at the ends and she had a very modest way of dressing, with lots of lace and ribbons. She smiled pleasantly at Sakura. "Are you the newest celebrity, Sakura Kinomoto?"

"Well, I'm not exactly a celebrity," she replied sheepishly.

The girl extended a hand. "My name is Tomoyo Daidouji. I have to say, Sakura, you're most assuredly the cutest person I've ever met!"

Sakura could feel the blood rush to her face. She'd been told she was cute before, with her cropped windswept hair and large green eyes, but not by someone she'd just met.

"What class do you have next?"

"Um…" Sakura checked the schedule. "Trigonometry." She made a face. Math had to be the absolute worst subject in the entire world. No matter how nice the teacher was she would still hold a grudge.

Tomoyo's face lit up. "That's my next class as well! Actually…" She glanced over at Sakura's schedule. "We have all but fourth and fifth period together. How about we walk to together to class?"

Sakura blinked stupidly for a second before smiling warmly. "Sure!"

It turned out Tomoyo's mother was the head of a large company in Seattle. When Sakura was asked about her parents on the way to class, she told about her father's job at the university teaching archeology. When inquired about her mother, she told the truth.

First mistake.

"Oh, that must be terrible! To not know one's own mother…." She shook her head in disbelief. "You must be so depressed!"

She often got this when she mentioned her mother. So Sakura just shook her head. "No, I'm really not. I got tons of love from my father, so I never felt neglected."

Tomoyo seemed to go suddenly hard of hearing. "Poor thing… hiding your deep, torturous angst with a warm smile. It's so mature and depressing, Sakura-chan. I bet you had many gentleman callers back in Arizona."

"No, really I…. wait, huh?"

"Guys seem to go for the angst-ridden teenagers, especially the rather beautiful men." She said it as though it were the most obvious, logical thing in the world.

Before Sakura could express her confusion any further, they reached the Trigonometry class. As Sakura expected, it was an hour of complete torture. Spanish wasn't so bad, though seeing as the class was already halfway through the semester, she feared she was a little behind. Once that was done and over with, she and Tomoyo walked together to lunch. They sat down with a group of Tomoyo's friends, most of whom Sakura forgot the names of as soon as they were introduced.

Before long, the conversation turned (with lots of help from Tomoyo) to Sakura's late mother.

"Isn't it just terrible?" she asked the group, though she wore a large smile and a blush.

"I think I'd be knee-deep in depression!" one of Tomoyo's friends answered.

"And if I wasn't, I could always use it as a valid excuse to _act_ depressed," another replied with a sly grin. "I'm soo jealous of you, Sakura! You must have guys drooling all over you!"

She gave them a half-baked smile. Why was everyone so set on her being depressed? She guessed they'd realize soon enough that she wasn't, but… was everyone in Forks like this? And she'd never noticed a correlation between hot guys and angsty girls before.

Tomoyo leaned over to whisper to Sakura, "I bet you're wondering who _they_ are, aren't you?" She motioned with her eyes over to a table by the window, where only two people were sitting.

Sakura had to admit they were beautiful. And… completely alike. As in, they were identical twins. Both had windswept blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and lanky figures.

"Actually, I wasn't wondering that at all…"

"The one on the left talking to that red-head, that's Yuui. Unfortunately, he's already taken. And no, that's not her."

"Um, okay." She wasn't really sure why Tomoyo was so determined to tell all of this to her. Sure, those two twins were nice to look at, but Sakura wasn't really interested in a relationship right now.

All of a sudden, Sakura noticed that Tomoyo's constant talking had stopped buzzing in her ear. She turned away from the twins, confused to see Tomoyo back to eating her lunch silently.

Her brow furrowed. What had just happened? She suppressed a "Hoe?", something she'd been doing since entering high school. "Uh, Tomoyo?"

"Hmm?" she asked through a mouthful of rather disgusting looking school pizza. For the daughter of a corporate head, you'd think she wouldn't eat something as dangerous as cafeteria food.

"You just stopped talking."

"Oh. Well, I figured it must not have been very interesting. Plus, how could I stay away from the delicious meal those wonderful ladies prepared for us?" She slipped the last part in as one of the said "wonderful ladies" traipsed by.

Ha-ha. How very tricky. Insert a tid-bit of information, then stop suddenly, leaving the poor listener somewhat interested in whatever wasn't said. Problem is… it worked. It seemed she was going to have to ask it.

"Who's he?" Sakura pointed to the other twin. He was watching Yuui with a strange expression; perhaps rueful? His mouth was set in a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, which were nearly concealed behind blonde bangs.

Tomoyo didn't even try to hide the smile playing on her lips. Sakura had obviously said the magic words. She dropped the pizza slice onto her paper tray and stared meaningfully at Sakura. The effect was pretty dramatic. "That is Fai D. Flourite."

* * *

**Well, there's the first chapter! *Gasps* A not-so-cliffie! I hope it wasn't too boring (it wasn't to write! :D ) If you wanted a duplicate of Twilight, I'm sorry, this isn't it. I'm changing quite a bit, mixing characters around here and deleting characters there. I'd love to hear your guesses on whom will be whom!**

**This was something I did on a whim, but I'd really like to continue it, though I have no idea when that may be. Many thanks to Uakari (story: Not in Tokyo Anymore) and catfishii (story: Twilight: RESERvoir Style) for the inspiration for this story. Reviews are my cookies, and everything (including waiting time between chapters, *hint hint*) is better with cookies. **


	2. Biology Can Be Fun!

**A/N: Welcome Back! Thank you those who reviewed and subscribed to/favorited (no, it's not a word. no, I don't really care) this story after just one chapter! I'm sorry this chapter two wasn't out in the week I had planned... but two weeks isn't too bad, right? Well, I won't keep you! Go ahead, on to the parody!**

**Disclaimer: Let's list the things I don't own, just because I'm masochistic like that: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, CardCaptor Sakura, xxxHolic, The Twilight Saga... need I go on? .-_-.**

**

* * *

**

_Last time_

_ "Who's he?" Sakura pointed to the other twin. He was watching Yuui with a strange expression; perhaps rueful? His mouth was set in a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, which were nearly concealed behind blonde bangs._

_ Tomoyo didn't even try to hide the smile playing on her lips. Sakura had obviously said the magic words. She dropped the pizza slice onto her paper tray and stared meaningfully at Sakura. The effect was pretty dramatic. "That is Fai D. Flourite."_

**Chapter Two: Biology Can Be Fun? And Volleyball Is Deadly!**

"… Is the dramatic silence over yet?"

Tomoyo thought for a second. "Not quite yet… hold on… Alright, that should be enough pausing for dramatic effect, don't you think?"

It took her a moment to gather her thoughts again. _Fai, huh?_ Sakura had to admit, from his name it sounded like he had popped right out of a fantasy RPG. Thanks to her very imaginative nature, a brief image of him with a broadsword in hand flashed before her mind, but she shook her head. No, he was _definitely_ more the staff type.

"Can't take your eyes off?" Tomoyo purred. Was it just Sakura, or did it seem like her newest friend was up to something…? As she stuttered out nonsense in reply, Tomoyo simply smiled. "He's looking at you, Sakura."

"H… Eh?" She stopped herself from "hoe"-ing again. It would not be good if she let _that _slip.

Sure enough, he was staring right over at them—right over at _her_, to be exact. She felt embarrassed; did he know they had been talking about him? From the look in his eyes, it sure as heck seemed like he did. Sakura could feel her face getting redder by the minute.

And then he did the unimaginable: he waved with a carefree smile plastered on his face.

Feeling like an idiot, she waved back, and then quickly turned around to stare at the oh-so-interesting speck of God-knows-what on her pizza slice.

Well, that was awkward.

"Ohoho, your face is beat red, Sakura!"

She sat in silence for the rest of lunch as everyone thought it was necessary to comment on Sakura's sudden resemblance to a tomato.

The second-to-last class was Biology, which seemed to be the only class none of her lunch-mates seemed to have with her. The classroom was pretty jam-packed, and there was only one empty seat in sight. Of course, that was the seat that she was assigned to. And of course, that seat just happened to be next to Mr. Flourite.

Face already heating up from the ever-so-awkward scene from lunch, she dropped her book bag with a heavy thud (it was about to explode from the textbooks she'd gotten along with the notebooks she'd bought) and sat at the table.

Was it just her, or was there a total tense air between her and the boy next to her? She glanced at him while the teacher was busy writing things she was sure she was supposed to be taking notes on. He was staring straight ahead with a clenched jaw. He seemed like he was in pain or something…

"Are you okay?" The words slipped out before she could stop herself. Gosh darn it.

He turned toward her, eyebrows raised, then smiled. "Actually… you dropped your book bag on my foot."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry!" she whispered back, moving her ten-ton bag. Well, that was brilliant! Just drop your crap on a stranger's foot. Yup, that's the best and easiest way to make a friend.

Fai gave a sigh of relief. "Hyuu~! That's one heavy pack. Haven't they assigned you a locker yet?"

…

"'Hyuu~?'" She'd heard a lot of weird sayings before, but that was definitely a new one.

"Kinomoto." She jumped at the teacher's voice and felt the blood drain from her face. Oh no, she couldn't be in trouble the first day! She would be labeled the entire year by the teacher as 'the one who can't keep her mouth shut'! Luckily, that didn't seem to be the teacher's intention. "What part of a cell is this?" He pointed to a diagram on the board.

"That's the mitochondria." Thank goodness her class in Arizona had studied this just two weeks earlier.

He nodded, pleased. "Good. Over here we have…" He turned his back on the class and continued with the lesson.

"So, you're Sakura then?" Fai asked. He rested his chin on his palm and stared at her with, you guessed it, a smile plastered on his face.

"Yes." She had no idea why everyone at lunch seemed to think he was so aloof and antisocial. He seemed perfectly friendly! She started to actually copy down what was on the board. "And you're Fai, right?"

"Mm-hm! You and Tomoyo were talking about me during lunch," he said lightly.

Her pencil skittered across the table and onto the floor. "Oh, uh, we weren't really—she was just filling me in on everyone. Y'know, to give me the lay-of-the-land and everything!" Would the embarrassment end? Somebody in Forks had to hate her.

Her teacher obviously wasn't that person. He ended their horrible conversation by moving on to the next activity. He passed out a classroom set of microscopes and slides. Each table (two sat at each table) got a worksheet that they had to fill out before class ended.

Pro: She got to do group work, which was always better than boring individual work. Con: She had to do it with Fai after the blush-fest she'd been providing for the last half hour.

Once again, thank goodness she hadn't moved two weeks earlier. She and Fai actually whizzed right through the sheet. Fai seemed to be pretty good at biology, since he was able to name them after looking only a fraction of a second through the microscope. Biology wasn't really Sakura's favorite, but she was pretty speedy as well.

For the rest of the class period (everyone else took quite a while to finish), she and Fai chatted it up. Mostly he asked her questions, like what it was like in Arizona and stuff like that. The conversation carried pretty well, which was surprising, since most "nice to meet you" conversations turn really awkward within the first couple of minutes. Fai seemed like a really nice guy!

But something was off.

The first problem was his face. Okay, that probably came off meaner than it was supposed to. What she meant was, even though he smiled a lot, it never reached his eyes. They were always vacant, and Sakura easily recognized it as sadness.

He also just gave off this weird… aura? Maybe it was just a feeling, but he seemed different than everyone else. And no, it was not because he was blonde. Though it did seem nearly everyone else had darker hair… was hair dye that popular nowadays?

Class ended. Everyone handed the worksheets to the teacher and packed their bags up, which looked like they were about to explode and send papers flying everywhere. Fai and Sakura got up to leave as well.

"See you—oh, um, hasta manana?" Sakura corrected. She really was behind in Spanish and needed to practice the little she did know.

"Actually, it's 'hasta mañana,' with the tilde over the first 'n.'" Fai was a senior, so it was to be assumed he had already taken Spanish. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. I've always preferred French, though," he added thoughtfully.

"Oh, um, right…" She wasn't quite sure how he knew she hadn't put the tilde over the first 'n' when she spoke it though. She beamed at him anyway though. It was always nice to make a new friend, and Fai seemed like a very nice person.

They walked out together, ready to go their separate ways, when their arms brushed. Fai walked away, but Sakura paused just outside the biology room. His skin had been ice cold.

* * *

The very last period of the day just happened to be Sakura's favorite: Phys Ed. It had been her favorite since elementary school (just as math had been her most hated), and she'd always been pretty good at it. She had been on a number of school athletic teams throughout all of her school years.

It seemed this week's focus was on one sport in particular: volleyball. Sakura wished they could have gone outside to play, but Forks was a lot cooler than Arizona. Even though it was only early October, the thermometer's all read around a cool forty degrees—and that was the high. How in the world would she survive here?

Instead of the sandy volleyball pit outside, they were stuck inside the musty, humid and altogether disgustingly hot gymnasium. Okay, it wasn't that bad. But it was damp, courtesy of leaky patches in the roof. And it smelled, but all gyms did.

"Sakura!"

Tomoyo waved at her from the top bleacher. When they had been changing at the start of the class period, Sakura had asked if Tomoyo had forgotten her change of clothes. It turned out that Tomoyo had a doctor's note that said she wouldn't be able to participate in gym for the entire semester. Of course, Sakura was horrified. What could be so terribly wrong with her friend? Tomoyo wouldn't give out any other information.

The dark-haired girl smiled at her. "Sakura, you look lovely in your sports wear!"

She blushed. "Tomoyo, I think the match is starting…!" she said, trying to change the subject. As she spoke, a girl on her team served the ball over the net.

"Good luck! Oh, I almost forgot…."

Sakura didn't wait to see what Tomoyo had almost forgotten; the ball was already being volleyed over back to her side. So, she did what came naturally; rocked the socks of every one of her teammates! It seemed they had been worried about her (her cuteness was deceiving, or so she'd been told), but they had no need to worry at all. She bunted the ball like it was no one's business over to the other side, where it landed right on the back line.

The rest of her team cheered; the guys (their class was co-ed) even gave her high fives. They were delighted when they won their first set, many of their points thanks to Sakura.

It wasn't until halfway through the second set that she noticed it. Tomoyo had cheered in the stands after Sakura had scored another point, so naturally, Sakura turned to thank her. She wasn't really expecting something to reflect back into her eye.

"T-Tomoyo," she started warily. "Is that a… camcorder?"

"Of course!" Why did Tomoyo make unordinary things seem like they were completely normal? "I have to capture your volleyball prowess for the yearbook committee!"

"But don't you need a regular camera for yearbook photos?"

She was, as ever, unfazed. "Oh, I already took enough of those. These are for myself!"

Sakura didn't get a chance to question further; her thoughts were interrupted by several people shouting her name. As she turned she saw the blurry form of the volleyball headed straight for her. Okay, so it wouldn't kill her, but it would still hurt like hell! Not to mention all the taunts from Touya later….

The pain never came. Another form, coming from her right, flew right in front of her. The girls around her screamed in surprise as Sakura looked down to see a boy on the gym floor, hugging the volleyball that he had snatched out of the air.

Though she was shocked as well, she couldn't help but think how majorly epic that was. Still, she knelt beside him, stuttering again (what was with her speech impediment today?). "A-Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The boy sat up and rubbed his shoulder with his free hand. His brown hair was tousled from the fall (or maybe it was always like that?). "Yes… I am fine." He offered her the ball. Sakura couldn't help but notice had beautiful amber eyes. Did everyone have amazing eyes in Forks or what? "I think it is your serve."

"Thanks…" She took the ball and the boy seemed to get up with no problem. He grabbed the book bag he had abandoned on the sideline and walked up to the front of the gym, where he handed the coach a note. He then headed into the boys' locker room and out of sight.

Luckily, it hadn't just been her that was watching him. The entire class seemed mesmerized. The silence was only broken when Tomoyo started clapping.

"Well, that was rather dashing, wasn't it?"

* * *

**A/N: There it is! I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of my parody! I feel like I have to explain myself... so I apologize in advance for the rambling. Ah-hem... I don't think this one was as funny as the first chapter (was that one even funny...?), but I really needed to fully introduce Fai and give a glimpse at the brown-haired boy (who should be pretty obvious). The brown-haired boy is in fact taking Mike's place, so congrats kayo-hime for guessing right! Our main characters (excluding my darling Moko-chan .-_-.) are pretty obvious and are meant to be. The rest... well, let's just say I've tried to make them a little bit more difficult. Especially everyone's friendly(?) neighborhood Dimensional Witch, who will have a rather important part in this entire thing! :D I really want you to keep speculating though, because I love reading them!**

**Actually, trying to make the characters more unexpected kind of helped me create a solid plot for this parody (apparently it IS possible!). So be expecting twists and turns and mind explosions that would make CLAMP jealous! (well, almost... the whole clone/parent thing still has my mind recovering from its spontaneous combustion). Also, in case you haven't noticed, I'm making the characters much more like their Tsubasa counterparts than their Twilight roles. I didn't want to have to write all the angst (that will come in due time!).**

**Once again, thank you SO much for reviewing and all the other stuff you wonderful, wonderful people did to make me happy! When I checked my e-mail the next morning and saw the 3 reviews... I spazzed out. For a week. And I would love to spazz out for another week because of your reviews! =^_^= Look, a kitty!**

_Next time: We learn the ever-so mysterious identity of the brown-haired savior! And... other stuff... that will be decided eventually._


	3. Native American for The Plush Toy?

**A/N: I'm alive! I really apologize that it took me so long to type this up. Marching band is the black whole that sucks up my time during the fall. However, my last competition was Saturday, so MB is all done (excluding one more football game Friday)! It's kind of sad, especially since one of my closest friends is a senior. I'll be free here for a little while! At least until Winter Drumline starts up... Darn my band nerdiness. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and subscribed last chapter! When I read them, they always make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside 3  
**

**Anyway, in order to make up for my lateness, I have given you the gift of a longer chapter! So, rejoice, for I hath not forsaken thee. **

**Disclaimer: I have never caused one of my characters to lose a limb or eye, so I'm pretty sure I'm not CLAMP. CLAMP owns Tsubasa. So through the sucky transitive property of "let's kill Kiana's hopes and dreams," I don't own Tsubasa. :(  
**

**Oh, yeah, and I don't own Twilight either…  


* * *

**

_**Last Time:**_

_The boy sat up and rubbed his shoulder with his free hand. His brown hair was tousled from the fall (or maybe it was always like that?). "Yes… I am fine." He offered her the ball. Sakura couldn't help but notice had beautiful amber eyes. Did everyone have amazing eyes in Forks or what? "I think it is your serve."_

"_Thanks…" She took the ball and the boy seemed to get up with no problem. He grabbed the book bag he had abandoned on the sideline and walked up to the front of the gym, where he handed the coach a note. He then headed into the boys' locker room and out of sight. _

_Luckily, it hadn't just been her that was watching him. The entire class seemed mesmerized. The silence was only broken when Tomoyo started clapping._

"_Well, that was rather dashing, wasn't it?"_

**Chapter Three: Is it Native American for "The Plush… Toy?"**

The gym coach let everyone get dressed, since it was pretty obvious no one's head would be in the game for the rest of the period. Everyone was still buzzing about the boy who must have been a little off the deep end. It seemed no one knew who he was.

Well, everyone except Tomoyo of course.

"That must have been Syaoran Li…." she said thoughtfully.

Sakura finished pulling her sweater over her head. "You know him?" Tomoyo seemed to know everything that happened at the school. It was a little eerie.

"Well… no, not at all!"

She nearly tripped over her denim pant leg. People sure were blunt here! She opened her mouth to ask a bit more, but Tomoyo continued.

"The teachers have been talking about him the last couple of weeks, just as they have been speaking of you as well. He must have just arrived today. I believe, if I am not mistaken, he's transferring here temporarily because of family matters."

"… How do you learn all of this?" Tomoyo's knowledge was certainly impressive. Did she learn everything about Sakura before she moved as well…? She was nice and all, and Sakura thought she was a really good friend, but Tomoyo was—erm, _special_.

The end bell rang. Everyone grabbed their bags and stampeded out the gym doors. As soon as the cold air hit her skin, Sakura knew she'd have to go get some heavier clothes soon.

She waved goodbye to Tomoyo and some other people that randomly waved to her as she finally found her Chevy in the parking lot. She was just about to climb in when she saw who it was that had parked next to her.

"Oh, Syaoran!"

The brunette looked up. He had just been about to climb into a small dark green Ford somethingoranother. Hey, she was proud that she had even known it was a Ford (thank you, logos!). It took him a minute to recognize her. "… The girl who was almost hit by a volleyball, right?"

She mentally facepalmed. "R-Right… My name's Sakura. I'm actually a lot better at sports than that, I promise. So, you're new to Forks as well?"

"Yes. I am to take it you are also a new student?"

Wow. He talked like he was from a '50's movie (Yes, she had watched some. They were a whole heck of a lot better than what was in the theaters now.). This guy really needed to loosen up a bit. "Mm-hm! Just started today, actually! Since we're both new, how about you sit with Tomoyo and I at lunch tomorrow?"

"Well, I…"

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then, Syaoran!" She smiled happily and turned to get into her truck.

"Wait, Sakura, watch—"

"Ah—Mmf!" She forgot to step up to get in and instead fell and tripped over herself into the truck. Her face met the scratchy old seat cover, which was hard enough on her butt, let alone her mug. She stayed in that very awkward half-in-the-truck, half-out position for a few seconds, too frazzled and embarrassed to do anything else. Finally, though, she picked herself up and turned sheepishly back towards Syaoran.

He looked terrified. Wide eyes, panicky expression, mouth agape; the whole package. "A-Are you alright?"

"… Yeah, I'm okay." Time to make a quick exit! "Well, I'll, uh, see you tomorrow then, Syaoran!" She clambered into the truck all the way, slammed the door shut, and sank in her seat as she drove out of the parking lot.

Touya was still at work when she pulled up in front of the house. She realized (perhaps a little too late) that Touya had never told her where a spare key was hidden. So she had to use her old school ID to um, _creatively_ enter her new home. Have you ever noticed that people like cops never install security systems for their own homes? She'd have to have a talk with Touya about that later, since she'd be risking her own stuff now, too. Thankfully, though, she was able to get in safe and sound today (and hopefully no one else would).

The reception on the television was crappy and the Internet was somehow even worse (dial-up of all things!). She supposed she didn't really have anything much to divert her attention away from her Trig homework. Yup, he had been the only teacher to give her homework on the first day. Ah well, she guessed it was better to have something to do. She'd definitely force Touya to get Dish Network or something halfway decent before long though—winter vacation was only a couple months away, and with no plans to speak of, she was definitely going to need some _Jeopardy!_ and _Wheel of Fortune_ to get her through the snowy days, since there was a fat chance she'd be stepping outside.

She'd actually gotten pretty far on her assignment before a distraction came: the phone. Sighing (only 6 more problems to go, darn it!), she picked up the receiver. "Hello?" Remembering that most people wouldn't be expecting a female voice to answer, she added, "Kinomoto residence."

"Oh, good, Sakura, it is the right number!"

Sakura's face lit up. The phone was the one thing that was good quality, and her newfound friend was coming in loud and clear. "Tomoyo! Yup, you got it right. What's up?"

"A couple of friends of mine are going on a picnic. I thought I would cordially invite you to join us, if something isn't currently occupying your time. Are you available?"

Actually, a picnic sounded like a lot of fun. Even if it was a little chilly out, hanging around people was sure to warm her up. "That sounds great! I'll meet you as soon as I figure out these last couple of Trig problems. You wouldn't happen to know the answer to number sixty-seven off the top of your head, would you?"

"Answer choice: C, if I remember correctly," Tomoyo replied helpfully.

"… You know I was kidding, right?" Tomoyo's laugh rang out so loud that Sakura had to hold the receiver away from her ear.

"Oh, and don't worry about meeting us. We'll pick you up."

"Huh? Oh, no, it's no trouble for me to drive and meet—"

"Everyone's going in the same vehicle, so it's really no bother," Tomoyo cut in. "Just be ready in, say, about ten minutes."

Sakura was feeling dizzy. Too much was happening too quickly for her taste. "U-Um, alright. Thank you so much for inviting me to…. Where did you say we're going again?"

"I didn't."

"Oh." That helped a bunch.

"… Oh, alright, I'll spoil the surprise just for you, Sakura. There's no need to beg. We're going to La Push."

* * *

Before the ten minutes were up, Sakura had finished her assignment and cleaned up her space a bit. She did not need to be harped on by Touya when she got back. Suddenly remembering something, she grabbed a pen and a sticky note from the fridge and wrote a note to her brother. Not like he would really care, anyway, but it was always good to be safe.

Just as she finished drawing a face sticking its tongue out on the note, a horribly loud honk from a car horn made her jump. She grabbed the bag and jacket she had placed near the door and raced out—then stopped dead. This could not be real.

Tomoyo was waving at her, the upper-half of her body sticking out from a sunroof of an absurdly long stretch limo. She had changed into a very frilly purple dress with a large hat—she looked more like a cosplayer than someone going to a picnic. "Bonjour, Sakura! Are you ready for an amazing outdoor feast?"

In disbelief, she trudged towards the long black monster and slid in. There were about ten other people in the wrap-around bench seats, all whom Sakura recognized from lunch and her other periods. They were all smiles when she sat down, but Sakura was still too shocked and nervous. "A-Are you sure it's alright to take a… a limo?"

Tomoyo's brow furrowed. "Why, is it not enough? Mother had the nice limo…."

This wasn't a nice limo? Tomoyo lived in a completely different world. Sakura grabbed Tomoyo's hands and smiled. "No, that's not what I meant at all. Tomoyo, this is all amazing!"

She beamed, her dark eyes glittering. "You really think so?"

"Mm-hm!"

"Sakura, you think this is amazing, wait until you see what she has planned for prom!" one of the girls next to her exclaimed. Tomoyo started laughing evilly.

"Ah, prom… yes, our junior/senior prom will be perfect this year. I have so much planned…." Her voice trailed off. She looked out the window, deep in thought, calculating every detail in her mind. She abruptly turned back to everyone. Nobody else seemed to notice the quick change in demeanor. Was that just something Tomoyo did…? "Sakura, you'll be prom queen, I'm certain. I've already got your dress mapped out, including accessories and everything! Will you wear it come prom?"

Wait, how did she already have her dress designed? They'd just met each other! Either Tomoyo was psychic, or she was a really fast designer… or else she was lying. Well, it would be rude to decline such a generous offer. "Uh, sure! Of course I'll wear it. But when did you—"

"Prom will certainly be the pivotal point of this year, what all of our trials will lead up to! The climax of our junior year!" Tomoyo struck a pose in the surprisingly roomy limo. Everyone else clapped, awed by their role model and friend. Sakura simply stared, wondering if Tomoyo really expected prom to be such an important event this year.

The rest of the ride was just as exciting, and luckily not as confusing. Actually, it was pretty normal, filled with normal and fun conversation any group of teenage girls would be found having. Within no time, it seemed, they arrived at their picnic spot.

"What's this place called again? 'The Plush'?" They all walked along the white shore. Sakura was sure the place was beautiful… in the summer. It was autumn, though, and the cloudy sky made the water a cool, uninviting steel gray.

The other girls laughed, but not in a mean way or anything. "Silly Sakura! You make it sound like it's a plush toy," one of them said. Sakura blushed. She really had thought that was the name… and she thought it was cute that it was like a toy. "Actually, it's 'La Push,'" the girl continued. "It's the reservation for the Quileutes, the tribe native to here. They have some pretty interesting stories…."

Eventually they picked a place to set up. People had hardly started unpacking before Tomoyo found something wrong. "Drat, it would seem we forgot to bring the grill to cook the hot dogs. Oh, I know!" She turned on Sakura without missing a beat. "Sakura, why don't you go gather us some firewood. All of it around here would be too wet to use… but the wood up there should be perfectly dry!" She pointed almost straight up—a large cliff loomed over them. Plus, you'll be able to see all of the lovely foliage on your way!"

That… was high. "Are you sure it won't take too long to get up there?" Sakura asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of her voice.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you have an amazing sense of direction. It's really not that far of a walk; you'll be perfectly fine!"

Without much of a choice, she finally agreed and set off into the woods. Well, Tomoyo was right about the foliage; it was beautiful. Things simply didn't get this green in Arizona—it looked alien. And the trees were huge! She was surprised she could catch a glimpse of the sky at all.

It turned out Tomoyo was right about another thing: the walk really wasn't that long. Or maybe Sakura just had a bad sense of time; but she could see a clearing up ahead and once again hear the crashing of the waves after what seemed like only a few minutes. She decided that she had to be far enough up, and the bark seemed dry, so she started searching for all the firewood she could carry. She had almost gathered enough when she heard something that made her jump and almost drop all of the firewood: a male voice fading out, and then a splash.

It had come from the clearing. Edging out to get a better look into the clearing, she saw a boy probably around Fai's age. He was just standing there, which would have been perfectly normal—if he wasn't standing on the very edge of the cliff (with his shirt off…?). Horrified, she shouted without thinking, "Don't jump!"

The boy nearly fell over in surprise, which made Sakura yelp and cover her eyes, this time actually dropping all of the wood. When she didn't hear the suspected and sickening splash of his body hitting the water, she peeked through her fingers. He was still there (thank God!), but he didn't look… as grateful as she had expected. On the contrary, he looked, er, pissed.

"Oi! What the hell were you thinking, shouting like that?" he yelled in a gruff voice. Now that he was facing towards her, she saw that yet again a person in Forks had peculiar eyes. This time they were a dark red. He was extremely tan and looked like a Native American (which… she supposed would make sense since she was on a reservation…) with jet black spiky hair to pull it all together.

"You were about to fall of the cliff!" Sakura informed. He just stared at her. Maybe he was sleepwalking and didn't realize what he was doing…? That would explain the shirtless thing, since it was near freezing. "I'm sorry I shouted and almost made you fall, but I was afraid you were going to get killed!"

He grunted and crossed his arms. "Idiot, I wasn't going to 'fall' off the cliff. I was going to jump."

Her stomach turned. "But… that's a horrible thing to do! Even if you're upset, I'm sure that things will get better! There are many wonderful things that make life so great, and people would miss you, and—"

"Shut up already," he snapped.

The words cut into her like a knife. What had she done that was so wrong?

"I wasn't going to commit suicide," he continued. His eyes were closed and he sounded extremely annoyed. "Cliff-jumping is a recreational activity around here, got it? It's perfectly safe if you can do it right."

"… Oh." Well, how was she supposed to have known? He didn't have to be cruel about it. "Okay, well…" She quickly gathered all of the wood she had dropped without looking at him. "I'm sorry about all of this. I'll, uh, see you around. Maybe next time you'll have a shirt on."

She didn't wait to find out his response to that pleasant comment. She turned on her heel and power-walked down the hill through the trees. By the time she made it back down to her group, she had a queasy feeling in her gut. Maybe that was a low blow.…

She completely forgot about it, however, when she saw a nice bright flame from a gaudy red grill in the middle of all her friends. Tomoyo was the first to notice Sakura standing there stupidly with an armful of branches. "Oh, Sakura, isn't it wonderful! My mother sent the grill to us when she saw we had forgotten it! Did you enjoy the scenery on your stroll?"

Defeated, Sakura dropped all the branches she had gathered and joined their circle. She decided she needed to vent about the mean shirtless boy, since that and her frustrations about the firewood were welling up inside her. "The woods were beautiful, but I saw some boys jumping off the edge of the cliff into the water. Is that normal?"

"Oh, yes, that's perfectly normal for the guys around here!" one of the girls said; she really had to start paying attention to names. "In order to escape the bitter secrets and duties of the Quileute tribe, the young men often use cliff-jumping as a form of recreation."

"And do they normally not have shirts?" She could understand that they didn't want to get their clothes all wet, but they were wearing jeans (which were not the best things to swim in) and there hadn't been any sign of the shirts that they (if they were normal sane people) would have worn down.

"Of course not!" another girl snapped, scaring the bajeezus out of Sakura. "If they did, then…"

"_Then we wouldn't be able to gaze at Kurogane's glorious eight-pack!"_ all of the girls answered in unison. Only Tomoyo didn't join in, but she was laughing quietly to herself.

…

Sakura's face burnt up. They were so intense and… scary. "W-who's Kurogane…?" she asked warily.

A girl leapt up, her eyes filled with admiration. "The son of the head of the Quileutes, and the strongest of them in generations!"

"A total hottie with red eyes that reflect the hidden passion in his heart!" another added, also jumping up dramatically.

"A fierce warrior with a tragic and mysterious past!"

"The definition of a guy with a 'bad streak' that makes all the girls swoon!"

Everyone waited for Tomoyo to add something to the description. She smiled. "A cranky little puppy that refuses anger management classes."

Shocked by their sudden outbursts, Sakura waited to hear more about this apparent mega-hottie Kurogane. To her surprise, the other half of the girls was completely quiet. Actually, they all looked pretty annoyed and disgusted with their friends. Did they not think the same about this Kurogane person?

_Wait. _What everyone had said started to register with her. _Red eyes and anger management classes…?_

Ah poop.

* * *

**A/N: And there is your extra long chapter! Okay, so it's not too much longer, but I did what I could, alright! D: I think the beginning part of this was pretty dry (sorry 'bout that), but things always pick up when Kuro-myuu enters the game! With Tomoyo's secretiveness, I'm starting to think I should've had this in the Mystery genre as well… hm. **

**Any theories about Tomoyo's, erm, specialness? And there are still a few characters yet to be introduced! (sorry fellow fans, but I could not think of a way to incorporate everyone's favorite manju bun into this story. Both shall make a cameo, though, as shall some other favorite mascots!) I'd still love to hear any and all theories you guys come up with!  
**

**On another note, I want everyone to know that I don't hate Twilight. But I definitely don't love it to death either. It's just soooo easy to make fun of! :D**

**Okay, last thing! I know I'm one day late as it is for Halloween, but I really wanted to reward you guys with either an omake or even plot-related Halloween chapter. I really tried to get this chapter done in time to do it on Halloween, but Cary Band Day ruined my plans for that. If you would still want a crack-induced chapter full of spooky-goodness, tell me and I'll be happy to oblige! It probably won't be horribly long, but that's good if you want the fourth chapter out at a reasonable time.**

_Next time: (Option 1 - Omake) Tomoyo throws a huge Halloween party and nearly the entire town is invited (which really isn't that many people...)! Many familiar faces are there as well... some not too welcome, either. A crazy night in Tomoyo's control! (Option 2 - Actual Chapter) The first day in Forks seemed to last forever, but things are finally starting pick up a bit and level out. But... where's Fai and Yuui?  
_


	4. Visiting Strangers Is Always Safe!

**A/N: I love you guys too much to make you wait for a plot-related chapter, so I decided to skip the Halloween Omake… for now :D Do not fear, for it shall be written, along with a couple other omake(s?) that have littered my mind. **(Updated January 3, 2011)**  
**

**Disclaimer: Nothing CLAMP does can be predicted unless you are A) Ohkawa-sensei herself! or B) as twisted and demented as Ohkawa-sensei. Since this chapter is **_**extremely**_** predictable, I can't be CLAMP and therefore cannot own Tsubasa. As for the Twilight saga… Hm. Well, just believe me when I say I don't own it, 'kay?**

_**

* * *

Chapter Four **_

_**Hey Kids! Going Into A Stranger's House Is Completely Safe! You Know That Lonely Old Man Down The Street…?**_

With cup of yogurt in hand, Sakura plopped herself onto her bed (nearly stabbing herself with her spoon… speaking of which, she was glad she had put back the fork she had accidentally picked up—because a fork would have seriously hurt! Because _**"forks"**_ are _**deadly!**_ And _**spoons**_ are better anyway…).

She shook her head. _This _was why she didn't trust her own mind. Before she knew it, she'd be thinking of all kinds of crazy stuff! … Like clones… and gauging out eyes… and alternate worlds…. She wondered if she would ever make it as a writer with her ideas. Nah, people would be too confused if she put every idea she had on paper. It was better to keep her insanity to herself and save herself the embarrassment.

Speaking (or rather, thinking) of embarrassment….

She hadn't told anyone about her encounter with that guy she assumed must have been Kuro… Kuro-something. If she had, the girls probably would have gone into another fangirlish rant.

Besides, it was better not to think about that one bad incident on an otherwise good day. She'd made some friends, already been invited someplace by said friends, and went to school! … Okay, the last part wasn't that great. But a lot of good things _had_ happened!

Deciding it might actually be best to let her mind wander, she absentmindedly spooned up the yogurt as she tried to boot up the monster of a computer that had to be from the late '90s. Instead of checking her e-mail and sending her dad a message, though, she ended up falling asleep waiting for the dinosaur to connect through AOL.

* * *

That night… she dreamt.

Not that this was abnormal. After all, _everyone _dreamt. She always hated it when she read that line in a book. It was like, woop-tee-doo, so do the other seven billion people on the planet.

Back on track: it was a pretty weird dream, though, which was why it caught her attention. It started out like most of her dreams/nightmares, in which she was taking a freaking exam in a gray classroom. Because heaven knew she didn't take enough tests while she was awake! Anyway, yeah: exam, classroom, boring. Tomoyo was at the front of the class, substituting as the teacher. Sakura recognized a few faces around the room; some of the girls from the picnic were sitting at different places, Syaoran was behind her, some of the guys from gym class were joking around. But, for whatever reason, the two people on either side of her seemed to unsettle her most. On her left was Fai, gazing into space with a smile plastered on his face and on her left was, of all people, Kuro-something, frowning at the paper like it was an enemy he had sworn to kill.

Then something happened: She bubbled in the wrong answer.

Then something even worse happened! Fai (and his desk) started to slide away until it finally faded away. Like… poof! Except without the sudden poof. More like a gradual _poooooof…._

She really hoped that this wasn't some kind of stupid foreshadowing. 'Cause that would be _sooo_ cliché.

"Oi, Monster."

Crap, the nightmare just got worse. Now Touya's annoying voice was being mean to her.

"Fine," Annoying-Voice-That-Wouldn't-Be-Named said. "When the computer doesn't work, don't complain to me."

Her eyes snapped open. "Hoe…?" She was sitting in the computer chair, her head hanging off the back. She lifted her neck enough to see the half-empty yogurt spilling over the keyboard. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom to grab some toilet paper, screaming "Crap!" repeatedly.

Once it was cleaned up, they checked to make sure the dinosaur did in fact work. It did, which meant that she would be spared a lecture from Touya. Unfortunately, he had something else to torment her with.

"'Hoe…?'" He smirked as he quoted her. "You're still saying that weird thing? What are you, ten?"

She did the only thing she could think of—stomp the heck out of his foot. As she stormed out to flush the pink, gooey tissues down the toilet, he called after her.

"Oh, and you have ten minutes before you're late for school."

"Hoeee?"

* * *

Other than being almost late, the day went pretty well. Actually, it went a lot like her first day. She supposed she should have suspected that, since it _was_ school. Repetition was the rule. Tomoyo acted as though she had known Sakura for forever-and-a-day, Fai was as fun to be around as the day before, Syaoran sat at her table at lunch (though he seemed pretty shy), and all of the other students were pleasant just like before. Unlike the day before, she didn't almost die in gym, which was always good.

The next couple of weeks kept the same pattern. Tomoyo threw a Halloween Party that had to be some of the best fun Sakura ever had. But that was about the only bump in an even road of events. Even though it had a weird name, Forks seemed like a pretty ordinary little town, which was perfectly fine by her.

One day in mid-November broke the harmony. First of all, it was sunny. _In Forks_. Sakura had learned (from her friends and experience) that Forks was one of the most overcast places in the country. She had missed the sun, coming from Arizona and all, but she'd gotten used to the gray tones the clouds cast on everything. But when she woke up that morning and saw that sun had miraculously appeared, she just knew that it was going to be a great day.

And she was about as right as the local weathermen.

As she got to biology, something else broke the rut. Fai was absent. That was sad of course, since she always enjoyed his company during the class, but it wasn't too unusual for a student to be absent. She found herself worrying over whether or not he was sick, or maybe injured. Maybe she'd make a card for him or something.

He was gone the next day too. She checked the table where he and his brother Yuui usually sat at lunch, only to find it empty.

"Wondering where Fai is, Sakura?" the girl across from her asked. "He's so mysterious isn't he, when he just disappears like that…" She sighed.

She decided she'd ignore that last bit. "I'm just hoping they're both alright. I figure he and Yuui must be sick or something."

"Aww, Sakura, you are just too cute and thoughtful. The worry's written all over your face! I bet you spent all yesterday puzzling over why Fai wasn't here, fearful that he was in some horrible trouble, or worse—with a girl!"

"What? That's not really what I meant…"

One of her other friends made it to the table after waiting in the horrendously long lunch line (hence why Sakura brought lunch from home). "Fai's with another woman?" Strangely enough, the other girl's face lit up. "Sakura, you've got to find out! I'm sure you're completely overwhelmed by the infuriating thought. You won't be able to concentrate on class work for the rest of the day, so you might as well go now!"

"Huh? Go…?"

"To Fai's house, silly!" Another girl chimed in, joining in the confusing conversation. "It's on the farthest edge of town, far back into the woods. Here, I've got the directions right here." She pulled from her pocket a printout from MapQuest with directions to what Sakura assumed must have been Fai and Yuui's house. The girl pushed it into Sakura's hands.

"But I really… Hold on. The start point is my house! When did you—?"

"Oh, good, Syaoran!" The first girl who had spoken, the one across from her, beamed at the brunette. He sat down next to Sakura with a questioning look. "You agree with us right? Sakura should go find out what Fai's up to! It's a matter of life and death, love or heartbreak, right?"

The poor boy looked like he had no idea what the heck was going on. That made two at the table, which made Sakura feel a little bit better.

"I think… Sakura should do what she wants to at a time that's convenient for her," he said, purposefully general, since he had no clue what they were talking about.

The three girls looked crestfallen. Surprisingly, they dropped the subject and instead started acting normally again, as if the prior scene hadn't just unfolded.

Sakura sighed, relieved. "Thank you, Syaoran, you really saved me there!"

He seemed shocked for a moment. Suddenly, he stood up and turned away from her just as quickly. "I-It wasn't any trouble. I… have to go to the library. Excuse me." Apparently flustered, he emptied his tray (dropping the tray as well) in the recycling bin instead of the trash bin before hurrying out of the cafeteria.

* * *

"Hello, Sakura!" Tomoyo ran up and started walking by Sakura's side as she made her way through the parking lot. "I'm sorry I wasn't at lunch or P.E. today, I had to practice for my choir audition."

"You're in the choir?" Sakura couldn't believe she didn't know about this yet. She thought she had learned a lot in the weeks she had spend at Forks. If she didn't know about her best friend's hobbies, what else did she not know?

"A lot."

"Huh?"

"What's that in your hand?"

"Oh…" She scanned over the directions that girl had given her at lunch. "Directions to Fai and Yuui's house."

Tomoyo's expression changed, like a shadow crossed over her face. But that would be too fiction-y, so Sakura dismissed it. "What do you need that for?"

"I was thinking I'd drive over there to make sure they were all right, and maybe leave them a present if they're sick." Her idea may have been born from the strange discussion at lunch, but hers had none of the drama that everyone else had added. "Fai's been very nice since I moved here, so maybe I could start to repay him." They arrived at her pickup. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow! Good luck with your audition and everything."

Tomoyo didn't move. "Sakura… I don't really think it's a good idea for you to go there."

She hopped into the front seat. "Don't worry, I'll be careful. It probably won't snow tonight anyway. I mean, it's still sunny! You know how reliable weathermen are."

"No, Sakura, really. That's not the best place for you," she warned. Her voice was becoming increasingly strained.

Tomoyo was really sweet. "Thank you, but I'll only be there a moment. My sense of direction isn't that horrible." She smiled and started the ignition. "I'll call you later to tell you I'm okay, alright?"

Tomoyo watched as the old Chevy clunked its way out of the parking lot. "Not good…" she murmured to herself.

* * *

Sakura had lied.

Her sense of direction really _was_ that horrible. She had to double back more times than she could count, and that was with the directions right in front of her. She could have sworn that the driveway should have been RIGHT THERE, but it never was. When it started to flurry (the _one _time they were right…), she considered giving up.

She passed by the spot that _should _have had the driveway for the third time, this time on the way home, only this time it actually was there! It was a Christmas—er, near Thanksgiving miracle! The snow was starting to get heavier, but she knew she wouldn't be there long, so she turned down the driveway.

… And it was the longest freaking driveway in the world. Sakura could have sworn that she went up and back down a mountain before finally spotting the house.

She drove on, grateful that there was an end in sight. Oh, did she say house? Well, she mean mansion. The thing looked like it was a couple hundred years old by the architecture (not that she was really into that type of thing), but by the actual condition of the house you'd think it was brand new! She was now starting to understand why so many of the girls in her class swooned at the sight of Fai or Yuui—they were beautiful and loaded.

After gathering up her courage, she grabbed the nicely wrapped cake she had quickly picked up at the convenience store, along with the wrapping paper and tape. Sure, it probably would have been better if she had made it herself, but that would have taken too long! She would have been snowed in if she had waited all that time.

Exhaling to slow her heart beat, she swung the giant silver knocker (no doorbell…?).

And… nothing. For a while. She started to loose feeling in her fingers and toes. Well, this was a huge waste of time. If it weren't snowing, she would have just left the cake there with a note, but it was snowing, and she knew if she went back into the truck to write the note she would never get back out into the stupid cold again. Sighing, she turned away from the door and started back down the front steps… only to slip on the ice.

The door chose that particular moment to open. Because the world hated her. And the first impression of her to Fai and Yuui's father would be a klutz who can't walk when it's cold out.

Perfect.

"Are you alright?" The voice of the person who answered the door was smooth and silky. He sounded very regal, she decided.

Sakura blushed and thanked God that she was turned away from him. "Y-Yes, I'm fine." She quickly got to her feet and brushed herself off before turning toward him and (carefully) going back up the front steps. "I hope you'll excuse me. I'm Sakura, and I know Fai and Yuui from school. Well, I don't know Yuui much, except that he's Fai's brother, but I'm sure he's very nice as well… A-Anyway, they haven't been at school and I thought that they might be sick, so I brought them a cake." She finished it in one breath and found herself gasping for air by the end. She looked up at him tentatively (why the heck was everyone so tall?).

He smiled, which she guessed was a good sign. He had long black hair and a very narrow face. Honestly, he didn't look anything like Fai and Yuui, excluding the fact that they were all pretty pale. Perhaps they'd gotten their features from their mother.

"That was very thoughtful of you Sakura," he said, and she felt herself relax. He seemed perfectly fine, after all. "Fai and Yuui are out at the moment, but they should be back any minute now. Come in, I'll make you some hot tea while we wait."

She looked back at her truck and the snow accumulating around the wheels. It wasn't very high yet… what could a couple of minutes hurt? "Thank you!"

Amazingly enough, the inside was even more beautiful than the outside. The decorations were very ornate and seemed to be from all different time periods. There was a grand staircase that separated into two to reach the west and east wings. A huge crystal chandelier that looked more like ice hung from the high ceiling. Tapestries and paintings and rugs—oriental freaking rugs!—decorated the walls.

He led her just a little ways into the house toward a sitting room right beside the kitchen. The furniture was extremely lavish, but didn't look too comfortable. Excluding the plush chair that he pointed out to her.

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable while I make the tea." He retreated into the other room, leaving her twiddling her thumbs.

"T-This really is an amazing place," she said conversationally and rather loudly. "I don't think I've ever seen so many beautiful things, except maybe in museums."

She heard him chuckle. "Yes, well I received a rather large inheritance from my family line. There wasn't much to spend it on once I got older except to make this place as grand as possible. And I've had a _long_ time to do that."

"Ah…" She couldn't really believe that he'd been there that long. He hardly looked old enough to be the father of Fai and Yuui.

"Are you new here, Sakura? I've never seen you around Forks before," he called from the kitchen. She heard the teakettle whistle.

"Yeah, I just moved here in early October."

"Where from?" He sounded genuinely interested.

"Arizona, actually. It's a bit of a, um, change being here." Speaking of which, she still needed to go on a trip to Seattle to get some warm clothes. She hardly had any long-sleeved shirts, let alone sweaters and jackets.

"I would imagine so." He stepped out of the kitchen with a cup of steaming hot tea in his hand. He handed it to Sakura before sitting down.

She didn't take a sip immediately, though. "Aren't you going to have any?" she asked, motioning to his empty hands. She wasn't suspicious or anything; she just didn't think it was polite for her to drink when her host didn't have anything.

He simply smiled. She noted that his smile was a lot like Fai's. Maybe her initial impression had been wrong. "I drank mine out in the kitchen."

"Oh." Well, that wasn't in the least bit strange. She felt weird drinking when someone was watching her, but she couldn't be rude. So she took a couple of small sips. "This is really good. Thank you!"

"Glad to hear it. So, you're friends with Fai? That's good to hear, he usually doesn't make friends too easily."

She took another sip, but nearly spit it out in surprise (because that would have been smooth). "What? But he's so nice! I'm can't imagine anyone not liking him."

He crossed his arms and sighed. "I don't really think it's their fault. Fai usually tends to keep his distance. That's why I'm disappointed, but not surprised, that he failed to inform me about you."

"Me?"

He reached over and lifted her chin. She didn't really notice it though. I fact, the light must have been off or something because everything looked like it had light halos around it. Darn contacts.

"Yes. Sakura, you have a very kind and gentle smile."

She didn't really know how to respond to that. Luckily she didn't have to. The front door swung open and Fai started to back into the house.

"Do what you want, I'm going in," he laughed to someone outside. He turned, the genuine smile still on his face. As soon as he caught sight of Sakura and his father, though, his expression changed drastically.

Sakura of course, didn't really pay attention. Either that, or the weird halos made it impossible for her to see. "Fai! I thought you might be sick, so I came over." She smiled brightly.

Fai glared as the man dropped Sakura's chin and leaned back on the sofa.

"Ashura."

Ashura smiled warmly at Fai. "Sakura was worried about you and your brother, so she brought a cake over. Wasn't that nice?"

In what seemed faster than humanly possible, Fai was right beside Sakura in an instant. Darn fuzzy eyesight. Maybe she should excuse herself to check her contacts… if she could make it to the bathroom.

"What did you do?" Sakura couldn't help but notice that Fai's voice seemed different than usual… maybe her brain was just messed up though. Maybe this was some side effect of falling asleep in a computer chair after eating pudding.

Fai's eyes went from Sakura's tea cup, to Sakura, and then to Ashura. Finally he sighed. "Sakura, come on, I'll drive you home."

She (slowly) stood up. "Huh? It's fine, I can—"

"No, no, Sakura," Ashura said as he, too, stood up. "You should let Fai take you home."

"Okay then…" She giggled. Whoa. That was definitely weird.

Fai led her out of the mansion and into the passenger seat of her own truck. She was sure she would have been embarrassed out of her skull… if she had any idea what the heck was going on. All she could do was wave and smile at… Mr. Ashura? … as Fai drove her away.

For a little while, the ride was completely quiet. Figuring Fai was embarrassed about something (maybe being seen in her crappy Chevy), she decided to break the ice. "Your dad's really nice." Because that always started up an intelligent conversation.

She thought she saw Fai frown, but he shook his head and smiled slightly instead. When he spoke, his voice had its usual airiness. "Actually, he's not my real father. He adopted Yuui and I."

"Oh?" Crap, how could she not have known something so basic as that? … Maybe because he always asked about her in their conversations. First Tomoyo's choir membership and now this… she was sure to win #1 Friend of the Year Award. "Fai, tell me more about yourself! And Yuui, and Mr. Ashura."

He blinked at her, then laughed. "Now, now, Sakura, it's not nice to tease. I know that you know."

…

"Know what?"

He stared straight ahead. His carefree expression seemed a little forced. "Either Ashura told you or… no, I'm sure you figured it out. He must have made it painfully obvious."

Was he messing with her? Because, that would not be very nice, since she already felt out of sorts. "Made what painfully obvious? You mean that you're filthy rich?"

He seemed not to hear her. "I suppose it was only a matter of a time before you found out, anyway."

"Don't worry, I won't treat you any differently! You're still Fai, no matter what your background!" She smiled at him encouragingly. She never realized being wealthy could be a burden. Tomoyo never really seemed fazed by it.

He parked the Chevy in her driveway. With all of this confusing talk, she hadn't even realized they'd been so close. He smiled at her (man, people like to smile a lot, hm?), and she decided it had all been worth it to find out that Fai was alright.

"Well, here we are! You'd better get inside. After all, today must have been pretty stressful, finding out I'm a vampire and all."

… Because nobody was expecting _that_.

"Yeah, I guess you're…"

.

..

…

"HOEE?"

… Okay, so Sakura _actually_ wasn't expecting that…

**

* * *

A/N: And so the plot finally progresses! Plus, another character is introduced! There, doesn't that make up for the slow update? Doesn't it…?**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the first appearance of the ever-creepy Ashura-ou. Though I'm sure no one realized it was him until Fai said his name. I'm just that great at suspense. Speaking of suspense, there aren't too many characters left to be introduced. Let's see… 3 more pretty important characters, and then quite a few cameos (three I think are just mentioned, four never talk, and two or three actually talk), but the main players (*cough* pawns *****cough*****) are set.**

**Once again, thank you to all of my reviewers/subscribers! You guys make this all worthwhile! Your guesses are especially fun to read, so keep 'em coming! And remember, every time you review you get a cookie (from Kuro-myu's secret stash)! You can find them in your pantry/cupboard/cookie jar after you review. And they're you're favorite kind! Aren't I nice?**

_**Next time: **The biggest shocker of Sakura's life has just been revealed! (Correction: Biggest shocker of her life _so far.)_ Can she hold out against the rekindled pressure to be an angsty teen? And when Tomoyo brings an unexpected friend to the movies... Ah, hell, can we all just agree that Forks sucks?_


	5. Syaoran Kills Millions of Fangirls

**A/N: Helloooo, marvelous readers! I hope you enjoyed your holiday and New Years! Normally, I would blame my month-long absence on the holiday season... but, that's not even true. It was pure, good, old fashioned procrastination. Yup. Well, along with copic markers (squee!) and new flute (double squee!). Not to mention me obsessing over Kobato. again... but, we'll get to that in the author's note at the bottom :)**

**Disclaimer: I made a wish on the sunrise of the New Year. That wish was own the rights to Tsubasa and be a world renowned mangaka. Here I am, still writing fanfiction. Obviously, the Blue Fairy hates me and my wishes. As for Twilight... well, it'd be nice to be rich! But, no, I don't own that either.**

**

* * *

**

_**Last Time**_

_He parked the Chevy in her driveway. With all of this confusing talk, she hadn't even realized they'd been so close. He smiled at her (man, people like to smile a lot, hm?), and she decided it had all been worth it to find out that Fai was alright._

_"Well, here we are! You'd better get inside. After all, today must have been pretty stressful, finding out I'm a vampire and all."_

_… Because nobody was expecting that._

_"Yeah, I guess you're…"_

_._

_.._

_…_

_"HOEE?"_

_**Chapter Five**_

**_ Syaoran Inadvertently Kills Millions of Fangirls Worldwide_  
**

Fai tapped the digital display in the Chevy. "I suppose that's enough dramatic silence, hm?"

Sakura hardly heard him (though she thought she had heard that line before…). Her head spun—even more than it already had been doing. She must have misunderstood what he had said. Maybe "vampire" was some kind of label these days….

"What did you say a couple of minutes ago? 'Hoe'?" He grinned. "That's really cute, Sakura! You sounded like a ten year old girl."

Amazingly enough, she ignored that comment. Mostly because a wonderful thought suddenly came to her mind. "Oh! I get it. You volunteer at the blood bank and help take blood from people, right? That's so thoughtful!" Whew, that was a relief.

"Actually… no."

"… No?" She thought for a minute. "T-Then, you volunteer at… the… the hospital?" She was grasping at straws, now.

"Wrong-o." He rested his chin on his palms. "C'mon Sakura, games are fun and all, but guessing games aren't really your thing. You don't have to act like an airhead to spare my feelings or anything." Insert smile here.

_Ignoring that too…_ "So you're really a… vampire?"

"I see Ashura didn't explain it very well." He sighed and leaned back in his seat. He started talking again before Sakura could explain that his father hadn't told her anything. "Tell ya what. How about tonight you get a good night's sleep. I'll meet you tomorrow sometime and explain a bit more. I won't be at school again, so I'll meet you sometime afterward. You got a cell phone?"

She was starting to feel very tired. It was pretty cold in the truck, but she felt warm and snuggly. "Uh-huh…" She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. Wow, until just now, she had forgotten she'd even had it on her. Maybe that was because she didn't use it much—she wasn't really into texting. She much preferred speaking in person. "Here ya go."

He took it. She might have dozed off a bit while he was exchanging their numbers, because it seemed he handed it back to her almost immediately. Waving goodbye, she hopped out of the car. She nearly forgot it was her own car and was surprised when Fai jumped out as well. She was more surprised when Fai was suddenly beside her. She hadn't even seen him move! Maybe she'd dozed off again…?

"It wouldn't be very gentlemanly if I didn't escort the lady to the door," he said simply.

A horrible thought struck Sakura, and she actually stumbled a little (though, thankfully, Fai steadied her). "You're a vampire."

He looked a little confused. "… Yup, though I believe we established this already…"

"I brought you a cake." She sounded as miserable as she felt; which was a lot.

He thought for a moment. "Ashura did say something about that. You're very sweet, Sakura! Even if you sometimes make funny sounds."

"But…" Her eyes were getting dangerously heavy. Why the hell was she so tired? "You can't eat it, can you?"

"Ah… nope!"

"Sorry," she murmured at the door. Apparently, Fai had been leading towards the entrance of her house. She'd been too shocked by her realization to notice.

But Fai just laughed. He opened the door (wait, did he even have a key? If Touya had left it unlocked…) and started to usher her in. "Don't worry about it. I haven't received a cake in so long, it will be enough just to look at it." He put a hand on her head. "Now, run along and get to bed before you pass out from the drugs, 'kay?"

Sakura nodded slowly, not fully understanding. She waved weakly to Fai before he closed the door. She didn't even have time (or the coherency) to worry about how Fai would get home before she passed out on the couch.

* * *

"You look like crap."

Sakura glared at her brother, but stayed silent and soon turned back to the table. She wouldn't have been able to put up a very good argument, since she _felt_ like crap, too. Her head seemed to be pulsating and it was a struggle just to hold up a glass of milk. She'd never had a sip of alcohol in her life, but she had to imagine this was what a hangover must have felt like.

Actually, she was having a hard time recollecting the events of the night before. She woke up this morning (with lots of coaxing from Touya) on the couch with a blanket over her. She knew something about last night was important, but she couldn't quite remember it. It was like someone had freaking stolen her memories or something.

"Oi," Touya snapped, lightly whacking the back of her head (which sure as hell didn't help her headache). "You okay to go to school? You'd be alone here for a little while, but I should be able to get off work early."

She blushed a little. Touya was being… nice? She really must not have looked too good. "No, I'll be fine. I really can't miss school today. Thanks, though," she added a bit more softly.

He shrugged, but she didn't miss him grab his cell phone and turn it on before leaving. Usually, he didn't take it, since the communications in the cruiser were all that he needed during the day.

It took a while to get ready. Sakura knew it wasn't because she was sick; it didn't feel like an illness or anything like that. She just felt… out of it. Like she was looking through a fogged up window or something. Ugh, she really hoped she hadn't done anything bad last night.

She arrived at school late. Thankfully, her first period teacher liked her, so when she saw how bad Sakura looked she was spared from detention. There was only about ten minutes left of English, so she copied all of her homework down and found out what she had to make up from her neighbors. Then the wonderful teacher stopped class five minutes before the bell. She was just cool like that.

What wasn't so cool was what happened right after that particular announcement. Someone tackled her from behind, nearly knocking her out of her chair. "Sakura, you didn't call last night!"

She looked up to see Tomoyo, clearly distraught. She freed herself from her friend's death-grip. She tilted her head to one side. "Call?"

"Yes, call!" Tomoyo looked flustered. Sakura had never seen her like this before. "You made a visit to Fai's place, and you said you'd call to tell me you were okay, but—" her voice cracked, but she quickly composed herself again. "But you didn't. I thought something horrible had happened. And then, when you weren't here this morning…"

"I went over to Fai's house…?" The idea seemed familiar. Her head started to hurt again.

"Yes," Tomoyo said, but she started to sound different—wary? "You were terribly worried that the two of them were sick, since they had missed so much school. You went to make sure they were okay." She stepped in front of Sakura and pressed a hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling well?"

Sakura didn't hear her. The events of last night were coming back to her _very_ quickly. Some parts were a little blurry, and she hardly remembered getting back into the house and plopping down on the couch, but the important things were there.

"Fai's a vampire."

She expected Tomoyo's eyes to go wide, for her to deny such a ridiculous thing. After all, vampires were the works of fiction. Actually, Sakura wasn't sure she really believed it herself.

Tomoyo laughing was not what she had expected. At all. In fact, it made her kind of upset. "That's what Fai told me. And I trust him." Crap. That meant she really did believe it. It just didn't seem like Fai would lie about something like that, she supposed.

"Ohoho… Sakura, it took you long enough to figure it out, didn't it?"

And then she was hit by a truck. SPLAT.

Maybe that _wasn't_ what happened… But that's sure as hell what it felt like. She wasn't surprised? She had actually known about this? It must have just slipped her mind to fill Sakura in on this apparently inconsequential detail. Next there would be ghosts. Or werewolves.

"Tomoyo, I don't really think this is that funny," she muttered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She leaned back against the desk in front of Sakura and sighed, though she still wore a smile. It was obvious she had been waiting for Sakura to find out, though Sakura couldn't fathom why that would be. "Well… Would you have been so friendly and warm towards Fai if you had known from the start that he was a vampire?"

"Yes." She surprised herself by answering so quickly. But when she thought about it, it seemed like the only answer. Even if Tomoyo had told her the truth during that first lunch period, after Sakura had spent one Biology period sitting next to him, she knew that she would have thought the same about Fai as she did now.

Tomoyo smiled. "I probably should have expected that from you Sakura. That's not really the main reason anyway. I'm sure it was much more dramatic to figure it out by yourself than to have someone just tell you. That's really the whole point, right?"

"But I didn't figure it out by myself."

_That_ caught her attention. "What?"

"Fai told me. I never suspected a thing." Here it went again. Did they all have to make her feel so stupid?

"But…" Tomoyo seemed really confused. "He told you after you inquired about it, right? That's how it was supposed to happen."

Sakura shook her head, her brown locks flying in every direction. "Nope! Fai thought Ashura had told me, or that I had figured it out after meeting Ashura. So he just said it conversationally. I still don't think he understands that I didn't realize it beforehand…."

Ah, crap. Whatever she had said, it had made Tomoyo's face flush. Something wasn't good.

"You… met with Ashura?"

Now that she remembered the night, she was completely able to retell the encounter. She remembered it as being pretty pleasant, but Tomoyo kept looking more and more forlorn as she went on.

The story ended, and Tomoyo clasped Sakura's hands in hers, her expression more serious than Sakura could ever recall. "Promise me you won't go over there again. If Fai's there with you, than it's better, but…. Just, please try to stay away from that place, alright?"

"Um… sure?"

"Good," Tomoyo sighed, relieved. Next moment, she smiled, startling Sakura. Could someone's expression really change that fast? "Well, the bell's about to ring! Try not to get too depressed, all right Sakura? I know it will be trying, but you're the heroine! You're more popular when you're angst-ridden and have a war of emotions raging inside of you."

She was going to ask just what the heck she was talking about, but apparently the bell listened to Tomoyo's prediction. Her dark-haired friend hurried out the door before Sakura even had a chance to pack her stuff up. Tomoyo was easily the most confusing person she had ever had the privilege of meeting.

Silly Sakura; most confusing person she'd ever had the privilege of meeting _so far_.

* * *

Lunch was weird. Again. And that was even with the lack of Tomoyo, who was still practicing for her audition.

She'd been bombarded with questions about yesterday by every girl at the table. She answered each one, but halfheartedly. She wasn't one to talk much about herself on a regular day, but on a day when she didn't feel her best… well, it was a struggle. And then they went on their all-too-familiar rant on how angst was the best possible thing for a teenage girl to have at her disposal.

But she could hardly hear any of it. The news of Fai being a vampire was consuming her thoughts. The part of Fai actually being a vampire wasn't the part to blame, though. Actually, she was perfectly okay with that. He really was still the same person in her eyes. He'd always been nice to her, and she would hate it if something like that ruined their friendship.

She was more concerned about how it came to be, and how it had affected him. Maybe that was why he always seemed so sad…? She was sure that was part of it, but… she was almost positive there was something else that was troubling him. It had to be something that had only affected him, since Yuui always seemed genuinely upbeat, even though she didn't have any classes with him. She wanted to help him, but she didn't know how much she'd be able—

Oh, God. They were getting to her. They were actually getting to _her_, the bubbly, energetic one. Her thoughts were starting to fall under the "angst" category….

And that was how she decided life in Forks was officially going to suck.

* * *

After her not-so-great day (she wasn't going to call it horrible or even think much about it, lest her thoughts start turning more depressing again), all Sakura wanted to do was go home, take a shower, and have pancakes for dinner. And eat them with a spoon, just to rebel. That would have been perfect.

Fate had a different plan…. It was probably trying to get back at her for threatening to not use customary eating utensils.

"Sakura! Syaoran!"

She sighed. Tomoyo was still her friend and all—Sakura wasn't really one to hold a grudge like that—but today really wasn't the day. She turned and saw Syaoran a few feet behind her, heading towards his own car. Far behind, but getting closer by the second was Tomoyo, waving and smiling at the two of them.

Unable to be impolite to her friend just because she'd had a bad day, Sakura smiled back and met her in the middle where Syaoran was.

"What's up?" she asked cheerfully.

She grinned at them. "Are you two doing anything of interest?"

"Not really." Heaven knew she wasn't going to drive in the snow and ice except to get home. The sun had come back out again today, but it was still too cold for the snow and ice from the night before to melt.

Syaoran shrugged. "I do not have anything planned."

Tomoyo clapped her hands together in delight. "Great! Then we can all go to the movies!"

That changed her attitude almost immediately. She could feel her pulse quicken. "Movies? You don't mean…"

The dark-haired girl nodded, and they both squealed like the rabid fangirls they were.

Syaoran looked on at them with a "what-in-the-world-is-going-on-here" expression. He was probably surprised that he was being invited to go with them, since he only really knew them from lunch and gym class. And a little bit from the Halloween party. His natural curiosity won out against his bashfulness. "… What movie?"

"Ohoho, Syaoran, don't you realize what day it is?"

He blinked. Even Sakura could tell he was completely oblivious. "November 19, 2010. Why, what is so important about the date?"

With those few words, millions of fans worldwide died a great deal inside. Every November nineteenth, if you listen close enough, you can still hear their wails...

… There Sakura's mind went again. She really needed to do something about that.

Sakura and Tomoyo did die a bit inside though. "You poor thing! You're even more sheltered than Sakura, aren't you?"

"Hey…" Sakura couldn't make a valid argument against it though, so she left it at that. Instead, she turned to Syaoran. "Today's the release of _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One!_ No one blames you if you forgot," she added with reassuring smile

Her expectations seemed to be failing her a lot lately, with lately being today. She had thought that Syaoran, like any other sane person, would be jumping up and down with excitement, cursing the world for making him/her forget such an important event. Reality instead brought her a still-clueless Syaoran, wrapped up and ready to be given to some equally confused soul.

Eventually, he took notice of their open-mouthed stares. "O-Oh. Right. That. Deadly Hollows."

"_Deathly Hallows_," Tomoyo corrected politely, as though nothing had been disturbing about that statement at all.

Sakura, however, found that statement disturbing. Very disturbing indeed.

Her heart felt like it had just been trampled… which was weird, since it _was_ only a movie. "You mean… you don't like _Harry Potter_?"

He shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. "I don't really know if I like it or not…"

Wait, what? "Have you never read any of the books?" She'd seen Syaoran at the library on numerous occasions. Maybe he didn't like the genre…?

"Huh? I thought you just said it was a movie?" he asked incredulously.

The world started spinning. Could it be he didn't…?

"My goodness, you really _are_ sheltered, aren't you?" Tomoyo laughed, though Sakura was wondering how she could be taking something as serious as this so lightly. The famous Daidouji limo pulled up behind Tomoyo. A female guard ran out (rather quickly, considering she was in heels) and opened the door for the teenager. She ignored it for a minute. "Well, everyone has to see a Harry Potter movie sometime! So, why not come with us?"

The two brunettes gaped at her.

"T-Tomoyo! He'll be completely lost. This is the seventh movie!"

The heiress started to climb in, then turned back to the couple. "Well, then we have until we get to Port Angeles to explain about ten years of movie magic."

* * *

If it had been anybody else, explaining six movies' worth of information would have been a complete nightmare. The only reason it wasn't an epic fail was because Syaoran absorbed all the information they threw at him faster than should have been possible. Tomoyo also helped keep Sakura's explanations brief, since she had the tendency to try to connect every event together, explaining every nuance and pure genius behind every action.

They arrived at the theater. With a glance at the clock in the lobby, Sakura suddenly realized that they hardly had enough time to buy refreshments and snacks. This was the opening night of a _Harry Potter_ movie… how would they ever find a seat? Let alone three in a row? "Tomoyo," she started tentatively. "Will we have enough time…?" Her voice trailed off at Tomoyo's knowing grin.

"Sakura, you still don't get it, do you? I'm a Daidouji. I've had these tickets reserved since last month. Oh, and don't worry about the seating. A friend of mine is saving ours. We'll have the best seats in the theater!"

Oh. Well, that settled that.

With their popcorn and sodas in hand, they made their way into theater number seven (Sakura had to smile at that. Gosh, she was a nerd.). Previews were already playing, and Sakura took note to check out the one that looked like a Rapunzel tale. They made their way up the lit stairway and crossed into one of the middle rows. Tomoyo had been right—there were three empty seats smack dab in the center. Man, she was good.

It was only when they got to their seats that Sakura realized who the friend that had saved their seats was.

Today really, really hated Sakura.

"It was so nice of you to save our seats, Kurogane!" Tomoyo beamed at the dark and… rather frightening looking man. "I knew you'd be enough to scare away anyone that would want to take our seats."

He scoffed and folded his arms (rather, erm, large arms) over his chest. "I don't understand what's so special about this damn movie," he snarled.

Tomoyo, being Tomoyo, simply laughed and… didn't take the seat next to him. Or the seat next to that. No, she sat in the last empty seat happily. "Syaoran, why don't you sit between Sakura and I? That way, if you have any questions, you can ask either one of us."

Being a "good little puppy," as Tomoyo would put it, he dutifully obliged. Which meant….

Sakura lifted the bag of popcorn to hide her face as she took the seat beside Kuro-something… she believed Tomoyo had called him Kurogane. That sounded right. Luckily, he seemed too busy scowling at the preview for the animated movie about two wolves. She had to admit, the Rapunzel one looked much better.

And then… she noticed something.

"Are you still not wearing a shirt?" She covered her mouth immediately after she said it. It probably was not the best idea to let that one slip out. Seriously though, how did he manage to get in here without being arrested or thrown out? More of the Daidouji magic, she supposed.

Kurogane twitched. He finally seemed to acknowledge her existence. "Oi—You're the suicide girl!"

Syaoran choked on the popcorn he had been eating. Tomoyo rubbed his back, but seemed unfazed by his statement. "So you two know each other?"

"Not really," Sakura admitted. That was all she was going to say though, since meeting Kurogane had not been the most enjoyable experience of her life. But… maybe they'd just gotten off on the wrong foot. "So, um, Kurogane. Do you like _Harry Potter_, then?" she asked with a convincing smile.

He seemed just as annoyed and temperamental as when they first met. Surprisingly though, he answered. "I don't think there's anything interesting about a bunch of idiotic mages that wouldn't be able to stand up for themselves in a real fight."

"Wizards," Tomoyo whispered (un)helpfully. "They use wands. Mages usually use staffs, or maybe a magical gem, or sometimes nothing at all."

Sakura wanted nothing more than to sit someplace else and ask Tomoyo how she knew Kurogane. Then the movie started, so she made a decision. She had been waiting so long for this movie, and she wasn't going to let something this petty ruin it.

Everything went on like a normal movie night for a while after that. She even dared to glance over at Kurogane a few times. At times, he looked almost as invested in the story and action as she was. No matter what he said, no one could resist the phenomenon that was Harry Potter. It was much easier and less uncomfortable to check and see how Syaoran was doing. At times, she would lean over and explain to him who a character in a scene was, or what a certain spell did. He seemed to be enjoying the movie as well, which made her happy. She and Tomoyo would exchange knowing glances right before a very dramatic part, silently telling another that things were soon going to hit the fan. The only part she had to tear her eyes away from the screen was the part with the snake, because she did _not_ want to have nightmares.

The movie was reaching the climax (they'd just been found by the Snatchers!) when things in her own life started to hit the fan. She readjusted herself in her seat to get more comfortable and her arm accidentally grazed Kurogane's. Strange thing was… she had to stop herself from yelling out in pain. His skin was hot—as in, scalding fire-from-the-deepest-level-of-hell kind of hot. She looked at him, and his forehead was beaded with sweat. It was actually pretty cool in the theater thanks to the marvels of air conditioning, and she still had her coat on. His jaw was clenched, and his fingers were wrapped around the armrests in a way that made her think he was going to tear them off. Then, suddenly, he stood up and all but raced out of the theater without a word.

Oh, poop. Was he sick? He didn't look too good, and it couldn't be healthy for skin to be burning hot like that. Sakura noticed Tomoyo's worried look and that she was moving her things off her lap to get up and go after him.

That… that just wouldn't do at all. Tomoyo had bought tickets for all of them and was just as big a fan of Harry Potter as she was. Cursing the world and promising herself that she would buy the DVD as soon as it came out, she stood up. "I'm going to find out if he's okay," she whispered to her to friends. Both looked like they were going to protest (there was no way she was going to take Syaoran away from his first HP movie), but she pushed her way through the row and trotted down the steps before they could say a thing.

It took her a while to spot him, since the lobby was already filled with HP fans that were determined to be early and get a good seat for the next showing. When she finally did see him, she made a beeline for the girl's bathroom. He would probably just yell at her if she came empty handed, after all. She raced out of the bathroom with cold, damp paper towels.

Kurogane looked like he was in serious pain. He wasn't rolling around on the ground moaning like a dying giraffe or anything (though she had to admit, that would be _hilarious_), nor even have his head in his hands. He was just sitting, eyes closed and arms crossed, against the wall. Most people just passing by wouldn't even notice that anything was wrong. But the way his jaw was clenched and his muscles were tensed….

"Um… here," she said, offering the wad of wet paper.

He opened his eyes a crack, then closed them again. "Tch. I don't need those. You're missing your movie."

She shrugged, but smiled. He was actually concerned about her missing it. She decided right then and there that, though gruff and cruel (and shirtless), he was a good guy. "I've already read the book about ten times, and the movies never really live up to them." She knelt down beside him and, without thinking much about it, pressed the paper towels to his forehead. He didn't really react, which was better than what she thought would happen, so all was good. "I'm sorry about what I said to you up on that cliff," she admitted slowly. "It was wrong to assume you were suicidal when I didn't even know you and not consider that you might have an… an allergy to cotton or something."

"What?"

"Well, I mean, that's probably not the reason you don't wear a shirt, but it was something I should have considered before saying what I did," she added hastily, realizing how weird that comment sounded. She secretly hoped that he would take this opportunity to explain why he didn't cover his upper body, but he simply grunted.

This guy wasn't much of a talker, was he?

"I probably should have asked this earlier, but do you need me to take you to the hospital? Do you feel sick?"

He breathed out a long sigh. "This isn't something a doctor would be able to cure."

Oh, goodness. Was it some terminal disease? She was sure she would cry like a baby if it was cancer or something equally as dangerous. "I-Is there anything I can do to help? I can get you some water, or get some new paper towels, if you want."

He looked like he was getting annoyed again. He opened his mouth to say something (probably along the lines of "Go away," or "Leave me the hell alone").

But something happened.

His eyes shot open and he stood up faster than was probably advisable in his condition (whatever that condition may be). His gaze was glued on the front doors, like he was expecting someone to walk in.

It was probably a good idea to stretch her legs as well. Wondering just how much more of the movie was left, Sakura pulled out her cell phone and turned it on (who wore watches anymore? And the clock in the lobby was way too far away for her to read.). The screen blinked a message over and over again. Crap. She'd missed three calls while watching the movie. She started to go through the process of finding out who had called when a single word interrupted her thoughts.

"Bloodsucker."

Her head snapped up at Kurogane's dangerous tone. But it wasn't his tone that had caught her attention. It was the word and what it implied. She followed his gaze. Who could help but smile and wave at him as he walked through the door and spotted them?

At last he reached them. She didn't really pay much attention to it, but Kurogane moved between her and Fai. "What the hell are you doing here," Kurogane snarled in a not-so-friendly kind of way.

He just smiled, but once again, it wasn't that genuine smile Sakura had so seldom seen. "I had to come make sure Sakura was A-OK, since she wouldn't answer her phone…" he said simply.

Sakura vaguely remembered Fai saying something about explaining his vampirism more to her today. Oops.

Then something… unsettling happened. Fai's entire expression and demeanor changed. He didn't look mean or angry or anything like that, but… it made the hair on the back of Sakura's' neck stand on end. For the first time, Sakura could believe without a doubt that Fai was in fact a vampire.

"… Especially since _you're_ around, _Kuro-woof_."

* * *

**A/N: Whew! That is the longest chapter yet, people! Over 5,000 words! It seems like they've been growing in size exponentially. The chapters will (hopefully) be around this length from now on. I've been waiting to write this hapter for a while now, mostly because it includes Kuro-kichi (sorry if he seemed a little weird; he didn't have his Fai until the end of the chappy!). I already have an omake written in which everyone acts more like their usual selves (sorry... not the Halloween one yet). That'll be out in a couple more chapters. Anyway, I know that I would not have been as nice as Sakura. There would be no way I would miss a second of that movie!  
**

**I hope you guys all enjoyed your review cookies; you deserve 'em! Once again, thank you for all of your reviews! I love you all! I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed Fai's line at the end of the last chapter. I'd had that line in my mind for the longest time, so I was happy to finally be able to include it. In fact, I couldn't resist but put add the _Last Time_ excerpt for this chapter, if only to include that line again :)**

**Anyway, while in my holiday mood, I decided to be a very bad author and start a new story. Do not fear, for it shall only be two or three chapters long. This is when my Kobato. obsession can come back to bite me. Unfortunately, there are very few Kobato. fics and apparently nobody likes to go visit them. Which makes my New Years Kobato. story a very sad panda.**

**If you don't want to be a sad panda like my fic and get some more cookies, be sure to leave me with your thoughts! (Plus, 200 PANDAPOINTS to anybody that guesses where all my panda references are from :D )**

**_Next Time: _**_This, kids, is why you always remember to check your cell phone. Because, when you don't, your vampire friend will come to make sure you're okay and meet your kind-of-but-not-quite-yet friend, who just happens to have something against said vampire. So, yeah, check your cell phone. Oh, and someone else in Sakura's life is revealed to be straight from a horror story. Just... perfect._**_  
_**


	6. Sakura's Romance in the Theater

**Well... I'm alive, that's a good thing right...? No...? Look, I'm terribly sorry it's been so long. First semester was easy peasy; second semester, not so much. But school's ended now, and I'm finally able to right again, so we're good, right? ... Okay, let's get on with the story...**

**On another note, I've noticed that some of you are choosing sides between our two guys (and I don't mean Syaoran). So... Why not make it official? There is now a Team Kuro and a Team Fai. You guys tell me which side you're for in your reviews, and each new chapter, I'll update the standings. Who will win? Send in your votes!**

**Disclaimer: If I were CLAMP, you guys would never get any new chapters or anything. So... I guess it's a good thing I'm not CLAMP, huh? Twilight? Oh. Yeah, I don't own that either.**

* * *

_**Last Time…**_

_At last he reached them. She didn't really pay much attention to it, but Kurogane moved between her and Fai. "What the hell are you doing here," Kurogane snarled in a not-so-friendly kind of way._

_He just smiled, but once again, it wasn't that genuine smile Sakura had so seldom seen. "I had to come make sure Sakura was A-OK, since she wouldn't answer her phone…" he said simply. _

_Sakura vaguely remembered Fai saying something about explaining his vampirism more to her today. Oops._

_Then something… unsettling happened. Fai's entire expression and demeanor changed. He didn't look mean or angry or anything like that, but… it made the hair on the back of Sakura's' neck stand on end. For the first time, Sakura could believe without a doubt that Fai was in fact a vampire._

"… _Especially since you're around, Kuro-woof."_

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Sakura's Romance in the Theater**_

Nobody spoke for a long time.

Sakura, already used to these long silences, started to count down in her mind as she looked around.

10… 9… 8…

Kurogane was staring at Fai, jaw hanging open, as if trying to comprehend what had just spilled from the blonde's mouth.

7… 6… 5…

Fai was smiling, but it didn't have any joy behind it. Sakura still couldn't quite place the expression and the feelings that were causing its distortion, but that could have just been because she was too busy counting down in her head.

4… 3… 2…

And… action.

"… What the hell? Is that supposed to be funny?" Kurogane fumed.

Suddenly, Fai seemed to change again. His body language became more relaxed, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his stance more casual. His smile still wasn't a friendly one, though. "Well, you _did_ start it with the 'Bloodsucker' thing, Kuro-doggy."

Kurogane looked like he was going to lunge. That was bad. For one thing, it wouldn't be too good of an idea in his condition. He may have been trying to hide it in front of Fai (Sakura had no idea what the deal was between the two), but she could still see drops of sweat beading his forehead. As for the other thing… well, vampire or not, Kurogane still looked like he could break Fai in half, which _definitely _would not be good.

It was at this moment that Sakura concluded that Tomoyo had to have some kind of sixth sense. With perfect timing, she and Syaoran came racing out of the theater. Tomoyo was wearing an enchanting grin, as always, seemingly oblivious to the dangerous atmosphere swarming around them. Syaoran was more sensible and looked a bit more wary.

"Oh my _goodness_, I just cannot wait for the next and final installment!" she trilled, skipping right into the midst of what very well could have become a battlefield. "Sakura and Kurogane, it's dreadful that you two missed the end. We _must_ see it as soon as it comes out for Blu-ray." She spun on her heel to face Fai, who suddenly looked perfectly fine again. "You're more than welcome to join us, Fai, since you were unable this time."

He bowed in response, seemingly forgetting about Kurogane and his deadly looks. "It would be an honor! Though I wish it would be as funny as TOBUSCUS's Literal Trailer."

Tomoyo laughed. "That video was hilarious! Anyway… Sakura, Syaoran and I had better head back home. I don't want Touya coming after me thinking I kidnapped his darling baby sister." Sakura snorted, but she ignored it. "Kurogane, are you going to be okay?"

Surprisingly enough, Kurogane appeared to be settling down a little bit. Sakura was starting to wonder if Tomoyo had a certain effect on him or something. "Yeah, I've got my _Ninja*_, so there's nothin' to worry about there."

"Actually, Tomoyo, I was wondering if I could take Sakura home. We have a date," Fai said, winking.

Sakura was perfectly ready to go with Fai. After all, she felt kind of bad, since she pretty much blew him off (though she'd hardly remembered making the arrangement in the first place). She was just about to chirp an "Okay!" when Kurogane completely blocked Fai from her sight.

"I'm pretty sure Tomoyo wants to tell the kid all about what she missed of the movie," Kurogane growled (no, really, _growled_) threateningly.

Fai pouted. "Kuro-bark is so~ mean!" he whined, but he seemed to concede. "Alright," he sighed, "but will the rabid dog let me talk to Sakura for a minute? We'll be right over there, in plain sight, so you can be sure nothing funny will go on, okay?"

Kurogane looked reluctant—either that, or like he wanted to bite Fai's head clean off.

Sakura wasn't exactly sure why Kurogane wouldn't want her to talk with Fai, but she had promised him a chance to explain things, and she wouldn't be able to go home with him since Tomoyo apparently wanted to fill Sakura in on all the movie bits she missed. "Please, Kurogane? I promise I won't sneak back into the theater or anything, and it'll be really quick!"

His resolution started to crumble and he ran a hand through his spiky hair. She wasn't sure if she heard correctly, but it sounded like he muttered a few choice words. "Fine!" he shouted at last. "I'll be watching…. And what the hell are you all staring at?"

Sakura suddenly noticed the group of girls that had congregated around them. It seemed like the majority were either behind Fai or behind Kurogane, and nowhere in between. The girls behind Kurogane giggled and skipped away, but the girls behind Fai scowled and skulked back into the line for the concessions.

The blonde grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her over toward the movie posters on the other end of the lobby. When she checked, Kurogane was in fact watching them while Tomoyo was happily eating popcorn (and trying to offer the big guy some).

Fai jumped right into it. "Well, since we don't have much time, I can't say what I originally was going to," he said, though he didn't sound the least bit upset—just amused. "So I'll say something else!"

"Um, okay!" she said, trying not to sound as confused as she was. "What is it?"

Was it just her imagination, or did his expression just darken? (She was starting to think that sudden changes in mood were common with Fai.) "Just… try not to get too close to Kuro-furry, alright?"

"… What?"

"Oopsie, here comes the big bad wolf!" Fai squealed like a child caught doing something wrong. Kurogane's time limit was apparently up; he was taking long strides over to them. "I'll see you tomorrow in school, Sakura! Bye~!" Thanks to vampire powers or something of the sort, he zoomed out of the building like that tortoise from Bye Bye Birdie.

"Idiot," Kurogane hissed when he caught up. Tomoyo and Syaoran had come with him.

"Shall we go then, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, popping another piece of the salty fluff into her mouth. "Now that your romance in the theater is over?"

Sakura blushed. "Yeah, let's go." Her head was hurting too much to try to defend herself from Tomoyo's verbal onslaughts.

* * *

"Please tell me I'm not the only one completely lost."

Tomoyo had been talking nearly the entire trip back so far, going over every event in the movie. It was obvious she was trying to keep Sakura's mind off certain things (cough, certain _people_, cough cough), but it wasn't really working. With a glance over at Syaoran, she had noticed that he was deep in thought as well. She took the opportunity of Tomoyo going into another rant over the horcrux of a locket to find out if Syaoran's troubles were anything like her own.

He looked at her warily, as though unsure of how much to say. Eventually he decided and sighed. "I'm not sure why but… they give me a bad feeling."

"They?"

He nodded. "Fai and—"

"Oh, so nobody's told you either!" she gasped, sounding more relieved than was probably polite. She couldn't help it though—it sure as heck seemed as though everyone else in Forks knew and purposefully kept her in the dark. It was… better somehow to know that Syaoran had been left out as well. "I just found out myself; Fai's a vampire! And Yuui, too!"

She had expected Syaoran's eyes to widen like they do in those cartoons and for his jaw to make a comical sound as it hit the floor. He should have argued with her about how it wasn't possible and how things like that only appear in storybooks.

That's what should have happened.

It seemed Syaoran, however, loved killing her enthusiasm. Instead of bugging out, he cupped his chin and stared thoughtfully at his lap. "So he was telling the truth; they do exist."

Energy drained and suddenly _so_ ready for this day to end, Sakura sighed and rested her head in her palms (much like she'd seen Fai do so often). "Who was telling the truth?" she asked, though it was obvious her heart was no longer in it.

"My old teacher…" His voice trailed off for a moment. He came back from what Sakura could only imagine was a flashback and smiled, seemingly content to leave the answer at that.

"Syaoran, your stop is coming up," said Tomoyo, making it pretty impossible for her to inquire any further (why did that always seem to happen…?). Within another minute, they were at Syaoran's house.

He climbed out of the limousine as they started to say there goodbyes. He waved and headed off towards his front door. Sakura distinctly heard, though, Syaoran say something to himself, something like, "I never would have guessed that Kurogane fellow was a vampire as well…."

And then they were off.

Not cool. Not cool at all.

"Tomoyo?"

"Yes, Sakura?" Tomoyo didn't look up; it seemed she was now thoroughly interested in a wrinkle in her long, lacey skirt.

"You'd tell me if Kurogane was a vampire, right?" She couldn't have heard Syaoran correctly… right?

"But of course."

Sakura waited, but Tomoyo offered no further reply. Sighing, she pressed further. "Well… is he?"

At last, Tomoyo looked up. It looked like she thought about it for a moment before actually answering, "I can honestly say that Kurogane is in no way, shape, or form a vampire."

Sakura managed a slow sigh of relief. Good. The last thing she needed was another supposedly fictional creature in her life.

* * *

**A/N: ****Um, so it may not have been the longest chapter in the world. I apologize. I feel horrible, especially since you all had to wait such a long time for it. If anyone's still reading this, I appreciate it. I'm afraid I can't promise that chapters will be as long as they have been before, but I'll try to make them worth your while. I love all the attention you've given the story this far, and I hope you continue to support it.**

***_Ninja: _The Kawasaki Ninja is a motorbike. I read one story where Kurogane rode one, and it just seemed so perfect that that's now the only thing I can see him riding. Plus, his _Twilight_ counterpart also rode motorcycles, so it works.**

**ATTENTION, AUTHOR SUCKS: Oh my, I've made a horrible mistake! D: Way back in the first chapter, I have an awful typo (excluding all those crappy little grammar typos). Tomoyo calls Sakura "Sakura-chan." This is absolutely NOT supposed to happen here, so please try to disregard it. After all, it would be weird for them to use honorifics in America, wouldn't it…? Anyway, this is pretty important to the story, and I'll fix it ASAP, so… sorry for anyone who was confused by that. (I swear I've read this entire story over so many times… how the heck did I miss that?)**

_**Next time:** Always look both ways before crossing the street. Or a parking lot. Or just standing still in front of your own car. You never know what will happen. Oh, and what's this? Tomoyo's been keeping secrets? Who would have guessed?_


	7. Cars, Concussions, and Candy! Oh Sh—!

**Fast update this time, hunh? Well, I'm still feeling pretty bad about my many-month absence. Plus, now that I've gotten back into the story, it was kind of hard to stop. Thank you for the reviews and alerts (as always, since you guys are great at that). We see a new but familiar face in this chapter, so yay! I hope he's not too out of character for your tastes... I really did try to make it work, Tim Gunn style. Results for our Team Wars is at the end. Anyways, onto the story (right after the disclaimer, naturally).**

**Disclaimer: You should be pretty happy I'm not CLAMP, because I have recently discovered that I am absolutely horrible to my original characters. Wait... CLAMP is too? Well, that ruins my whole argument. Just take my word for it. As for Twilight... everyone (seriously, give me a major protagonist whose end is unhappy) lives happily ever after in that one, so you know it's not me. Hopefully I'll be a bit kinder towards my borrowed characters...**

* * *

_**Last Time**_

"_You'd tell me if Kurogane was a vampire, right?" She couldn't have heard Syaoran correctly… right?_

"_But of course."_

_Sakura waited, but Tomoyo offered no further reply. Sighing, she pressed further. "Well… is he?"_

_At last, Tomoyo looked up. It looked like she thought about it for a moment before actually answering, "I can honestly say that Kurogane is in no way, shape, or form a vampire."_

_Sakura managed a slow sigh of relief. Good. The last thing she needed was another supposedly fictional creature in her life._

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Cars, Concussions, and Candy! Oh Sh—!**_

Sakura was the happiest she'd been in a while when she finally plopped onto her bed and was able to sleep and forget about all of the rather confusing events that seemed to follow her around. The next morning, she woke up feeling renewed and refreshed, ready for the (hopefully normal) day ahead. Surprisingly, it seemed the world was going to be nice to her today and grant her wish. Her classes went off without a hitch. Lunch was as annoying as ever; Fai was nowhere to be seen after the first lunch bell rang and she knew Syaoran had retreated to the library. She enjoyed Tomoyo's company, but the other girls'… not so much—especially when they felt obligated to gush about her apparent "date" with Kurogane the night before (Tomoyo and Syaoran's presence at the theater with them seemed to have been forgotten). But, gossiping girls were normal, right? So she'd suffer through it. If luck was truly on her side, things would continue this way throughout the rest of the day.

And she thought for sure that was going to happen.

Silly Sakura.

"Excuse me, Sakura?" She wheeled around and abandoned her attempt to unlock the frozen driver's side of her car for the moment. Syaoran was trotting up to her from across the parking lot, a couple of books cradled in his arms (she had to admire his bookworm nature). "If you have a moment, I'd like to talk to you for a second."

"Of course!" She smiled when he finally reached her. He looked a bit stunned, but then grinned back. Ha! She knew it. Getting Syaoran to smile was easy. He just needed to be around other smiling people. "What's up?"

"Well, I was in the library—" She couldn't help but smirk. Called it. "—and I realized that I didn't really know much of anything about vampires. Since we are living among some, I thought it would only be polite to educate myself more about them. As it just so happened, the library had an entire section dedicated to vampires! Now, a good many of them were those fiction romance novels, but a few were on the nonfiction side. I have been looking through them, and they seem to have a lot of valuable and interesting information." He paused to catch his breath for a moment.

Whoa, a whole section on vampires? Sakura really needed to visit the library more often. "Wow, that's great! If you don't mind, do you think I could borrow one of those books? I'm pretty clueless on the subject myself."

He grinned from ear to ear. "I had thought you might want one. That's why I came over." He displayed the books he had in his arms. "These ones are a bit lighter reads than some others, but they have all of the basic information in them. You can choose any you want."

Without thinking twice, she reached for the one titled _Vampires for Dummies._ She didn't find it insulting at all that Syaoran would pick that one out as one that might interest her; honestly, she appreciated it. Those "for Dummies" books had helped her in the past, and were easy enough to understand even on complicated subjects. Actually, she should probably get one for Trigonometry…. She mentally shook herself. "Thanks, Syaoran! I'll get to reading this right away and have it back to you in no time."

"It is no trouble." Always so polite. "Actually, there is something else I wanted to talk about. It seems that in all the books I have scanned through about this, there's a recurring topic. In fact, it seems to go hand in hand with vampirism. It is in your book as well, so you can look into it yourself if I don't explain it well enough. According to these books, whenever a couple of vampires show up, it is inevitable that there also appears w—"

Whatever Syaoran was about to say next, Sakura couldn't hear it. His voice was drowned out by a horrible screeching sound. Trying to find the source, she spun around. She managed to see Kurogane leaning against his motorcycle quite a few feet away, Fai about to enter his own car, and Tomoyo stepping into her limousine as she spun. It only took a second more to see the cause of the earsplitting screech: a large pickup losing its grip on the ice in the parking lot. That would have been bad enough, usually. But, since this had been a perfectly fine day beforehand, it only made sense that the unstoppable couple of tons of machinery would be sliding right towards her and Syaoran. Things seemed to be moving excruciatingly slowly. And to top it all off, she froze.

Too soon, things sped up again.

She heard Syaoran yell a "Get down!" before she felt herself forced to the pavement. The back of her head connected with the blacktop, and she saw stars. She could tell without being able to fully see it that Syaoran was down with her and trying to cover her. He was between her and the oncoming car. In what should probably be about a second or two more, they'd both be pancakes.

When five seconds passed and she didn't feel anything, she wondered if the truck could have regained control in the nick of time. Still though, she didn't want to risk opening her eyes and seeing a vast kingdom made out of clouds (hopefully that'd be what she'd see). Syaoran didn't move either from what she could tell; maybe he was thinking the same thing.

"Hey, you can get up now."

She knew that gruff voice.

"I think the appropriate choice of first words here would be, 'Are you alright,' right Kuro-woof?"

And she knew that airy one too. Figuring she was probable alive, she finally opened her eyes. To her relief, Syaoran started to stir. He moved away from her and helped her up. From what she could tell, they were both a little bit shocked and dazed, but no worse for the wear.

The same could not be said about the once-out-of-control pickup truck. The passenger side of it was crumpled and contorted, seemingly from two areas. And it wasn't too hard to figure out where the damage had come from.

Kurogane and Fai were in front of both her and Syaoran, each pulling a hand back away from the truck. They had stopped it in its tracks before it could harm the two brunettes.

Fai stopping it she could understand. Kurogane, though… When she glanced over at Syaoran, it was clear the gears in his mind were turning. Did he understand?

"Someone's called 911," Tomoyo called from somewhere on the other side of the pickup. "Are Sakura and Syaoran hurt?" Sakura was touched by the worry in her voice.

"I'm fine," Syaoran called back. He turned to Sakura and scanned her. "What about you?"

Subconsciously, she reached a hand behind her head to where it had cracked against the pavement. She felt something sticky and wet. It wouldn't do anyone any good if she lied (in fact, they'd probably get mad at her later). "I don't think it's serious, but I hit my head."

Over the next couple of minutes of waiting for the ambulance to arrive, her friends helped the driver (who was scared out of his wits and apologizing all over the place) out of his car. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be hurt. Meanwhile, they'd made her sit down on the curb with Tomoyo, who was actually a big comfort. The only thing she wasn't too happy about was that they had called Touya. Knowing him, he'd probably scold her for being stupid enough to be in the way (even though there was no way to avoid that really).

Everyone involved in the accident had to ride in the ambulance. Tomoyo promised to meet up with them at the hospital. To be honest, it wasn't a big hospital or anything, just a small clinic, but it would do for this. Since everyone was still pretty shaken up, the only talking that occurred during the ride was when they had to answer questions.

The clinic was surprisingly homey and comforting. Everyone was very nice and polite, which was a relief to Sakura. She'd never really been one for hospitals. There weren't too many rooms, but they had enough for each one of them to get their own. In the ambulance, each one of her friends had voted that Sakura get checked out first (she tried to tell them it wasn't a big deal), so the doctor paid her the first visit.

She could tell just from the first sight of him that he was a mild-tempered, polite, and most assuredly very sweet man. She could imagine having a crush on him when she was younger (it'd been a long time since she'd had a crush, though). He came in all smiles, dressed in his white coat and a stethoscope hung around his neck (no, seriously, just like on TV). "Good afternoon, Sakura. Other than just being in an accident, I hope your day was going well before that."

She laughed. "Yup. But there's always something."

"Always," he agreed. "Anyway, I guess I should introduce myself. According to this silly nametag, I'm Dr. Tsukishiro. You, however, can feel free to call me—"

"Yuki."

Both Sakura and Dr. Tsukishiro (Yuki?) looked towards the doorway. Standing behind the door, his face visible through the small window, was Touya. Sakura groaned. Dr. Tsukishiro sighed. "Actually, it's Yukito," he told her. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled apologetically at her. "I thought he'd give me more time to make a good first impression. Sorry, Sakura, I'll be back in just a minute. I'll deal with your brother. In the meantime, have some candy." He tossed a wrapped hard candy from his pocket to her before he sighed again and left the room to talk to Touya.

They must have moved down the hall, because she couldn't hear their conversation (which would probably consist of Touya yelling and making a total idiot out of himself). She played with the piece of candy in her hands. She wasn't really sure what he meant before. Why would he have to make a good first impression on her? Was it because she was an officer's sister? It wasn't like Touya was even sheriff or anything.

Much sooner than expected, Yukito came through the door again, looking a bit tired but mostly amused.

"That was fast," Sakura commented. How on earth did he get rid of her brother so quickly? The only person she'd ever seen do something like that was her father. "So… is he going to barge in and scold me for no reason?"

"I doubt it. Actually, he was very adamant about getting the room number for the boy who was driving the truck, trying to use police work as an excuse," he said, picking up a clipboard from the desk beside her. "I told him that he could heckle people later; right now he needs to be a brother. So, I sent him to the waiting room."

She raised her eyebrows. "And… he listened?"

She noticed a smirk playing on the doctor's lips. "I can be very persuasive. Besides, he knows by now that he can't win an argument when I'm right." He grabbed a pen from the same desk as the clipboard and clicked it. "So, how about we start? Are you taking any medications?"

"No." She watched as he scribbled something on the clipboard. Something about what he had said didn't sit right with her. "You said, 'by now.' Do you know my brother?"

"Who in Forks doesn't know Officer Touya? Any allergies I should know about?"

"Nope." More scribbling. "That's not what I meant."

He gave a weak smile. "I know. We've known each other since college. He wanted me to practice in Arizona after we graduated, but I'd already gotten this position here. So, we were left to letters for a while. You can imagine how surprised I was to hear he had gotten a position as a police officer up here and was moving." He tucked the clipboard under his arm. "Fai told me about the accident. It's a good sign that you didn't lose consciousness, but there are other symptoms of a concussion. Did your vision have any problems afterwards?"

She hadn't really considered a concussion. She supposed she should have, but it didn't really seem like that hard of a fall. "No, my vision was fine."

"What about any feelings of nausea?"

"Ew. No thank you."

"I was also told that you had a laceration on the back of your scalp. How long did it take for it to stop bleeding?"

Crud. Should she have been paying that close of attention? "Umm… I guess about two minutes. It wasn't very long."

He nodded and walked across the room to a desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out what she could only guess was one of those small flashlights. He knelt a bit in front of her and turned the flashlight on. "Now, I want you to follow the light with just your eyes, okay?" She nodded. He lifted the flashlight up to her eyelevel and started flicking it this way and that. After a minute of that he seemed satisfied and wrote a couple of things on the clipboard again.

"Last thing," he said, smiling. "Do you have a headache?"

She shrugged. "A small one, I suppose."

"Do you have Tylenol at home?"

"Yeah."

"There you go, then. We're done."

She waited for the punch line. When none came, she couldn't help but gawk. "Seriously?"

He nodded and started putting his things away. "Yup. You seem perfectly healthy." He wrote something quickly on a Post-It Note and handed it to her. "When you go to sleep tonight, have Touya wake you every couple of hours just to be safe. That's a reminder for him, since he'll probably forget if you just tell him."

Wow. That had to be one of the most painless doctor's visits she had ever had. And this was after almost being hit by a car.

Yukito led her out of the room and down the hall towards the waiting room, where she could see Touya sitting in one of the chairs. When he saw them approaching he immediately got up. "The little monster didn't try to bite your hand off or anything, did she Yuki?"

"Hey!" Sakura cried indignantly.

"Touya, I'm never listening to your opinions on anyone again," Yukito said, smiling. "You're sister is delightful." He seemed not to notice Touya's scoff. He turned towards Sakura and bowed a little. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Sakura; though I'm sorry it had to be under such circumstances."

"It was great to meet you, too!" Sakura said, perhaps a little too quickly, since the blood rushing to her face had alarmed her.

She decided then and there that Yukito was an incredibly nice person, because he pretended not to notice her blush and instead changed the subject. "I'll go check up on Syaoran next, and then the driver, though they seem unharmed. You two drive home safely."

"Will do. Thanks, Yuki. I'll see you tomorrow." Touya grabbed Sakura by the shoulder and started to lead her out of the clinic.

She had to stop and ask, though. "Yukito, what about Fai and Kurogane?" Sure, they had seemed fine, but they'd stopped a freaking truck with their bare hands. That had to leave some kind of injury.

His eyebrows knit together, showing his confusion. "Those two? They're perfectly fine. Something like that wouldn't hurt Fai, thanks to his vampire abilities. And, now that he's completed the change into a werewolf, Kurogane's skin is nearly as tough as Fai's. There's nothing to worry about there."

"Oh. Of course." Feeling numb inside, she let Touya lead her out of the clinic and to his cruiser. The book Syaoran had given her (he'd given it to Touya to hold on to for her after the accident) was now sitting on her lap, taunting her, but she couldn't bring herself to read it, not today. The ride home was completely silent. How could she talk to her brother, of all people, right now, when she'd just had two revelations?

First of all, Kurogane was a werewolf. Thinking back to it, she could only curse herself. All of Fai's nicknames suddenly made sense (how had she not caught on to "Kuro-woof" and "Kuro-doggie"?). And, once again, Tomoyo had failed to mention anything about Kurogane's supernatural nature, which, honestly, kind of stung.

The second one stung even more, though. She had suspected it for a long time, but she never really had any evidence to prove her theory. Something told her Fujitaka knew. Heck, knowing this place and her sudden luck with "common" knowledge, the entire town probably knew. Maybe all of Washington. She didn't know. At this point, she was kind of too hurt to care.

What kind of a sister was she if her own brother couldn't even tell her he was gay?

* * *

**A/N: Hm. Methinks I won't be getting too many reviews saying "Hilarious!" for this chapter. Sorry guys. A serious chapter was needed though. I tried to put a couple of funny bits in there. Hopefully it turned out alright. Like I said last chapter, I can't promise how long chapters are going to be anymore. I'd rather you guys have something new to read more often than a huge chapter once every month (and it's a lot easier and less stressful for me).  
Oh, and I almost forgot. I had a question asking about Fai and Yuui. Since we all probably know by now all the crazy name confusion we have going in TRC, I decided to follow Horitsuba Gakuen rules. The one I call Fai is the Fai from the journey who annoys the crap out of Kurogane, while Yuui is the brother. I hope that clears it up a little.**

**As far as our Team Wars are going, I have something to change. We now, thanks a request, have a Team Syaoran. Here are the results so far:  
Team Fai: 0 :(  
Team Kurogane: 1 [this is from a review from a couple of chapters ago (you know who you are)]  
Team Syaoran: 1  
****Thanks to everyone who voted so far! Want to support your favorite character too? Simply say which team you're for in a review.**

**Oh, oh, and did you hear? I have two stories completed now! *applause* Thank you, thank you. One of 'em is a Tsubasa oneshot featuring Monopoly, starring our favorite mage and ninja (the rest of the gang is in it, though). And it definitely needs some love. What's that? Enough with the shameless plugging? Fine.**

**Thanks for continuing to read this! I'd love to hear anything you have to say about it.**


	8. The Dangers of Shopping

**Sorry for the longer wait this time. As always, thanks to everyone who has bothered to review/favorite/story alert this story. You're what keeps me writing!**

**Disclaimer: I just openly admitted a character was gay last chapter. Not just "most precious person" or any of that hoo-hah. If that doesn't prove I'm not CLAMP, I don't know what will. Annnd... Oh, I give up. I don't own any part of the Twilight franchise, 'kay?**

* * *

_**Last Time**_

_First of all, Kurogane was a werewolf. Thinking back to it, she could only curse herself. All of Fai's nicknames suddenly made sense (how had she not caught on to "Kuro-woof" and "Kuro-doggie"?). And, once again, Tomoyo had failed to mention anything about Kurogane's supernatural nature, which, honestly, kind of stung._

_The second one stung even more, though. She had suspected it for a long time, but she never really had any evidence to prove her theory. Something told her Fujitaka knew. Heck, knowing this place and her sudden luck with "common" knowledge, the entire town probably knew. Maybe all of Washington. She didn't know. At this point, she was kind of too hurt to care. _

_What kind of a sister was she if her own brother couldn't even tell her he was gay?_

* * *

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**The Dangers of Shopping (and not just the obvious ones)**_

The first thing Sakura did when she got home was go straight to her room. It would have been uncomfortable to sit there with Touya, since he had taken the rest of the night off. Not because he was gay or anything; that part she was perfectly fine with. It was just that he hadn't told her or even seemed like he had wanted to tell her. Sure, they fought and teased each other a lot (they were brother and sister, after all), but she'd always thought that he'd trusted her. To find out that may not be the case…

It sucked. It sucked hard.

Part of her wanted to run back downstairs, grab a fork from the drawer in the kitchen (not a spoon, mind you; that would be too lenient), and start stabbing the crap out of his legs, demanding an explanation for his secrecy. That would serve him right. Unfortunately, then Yukito might actually think she was a monster and start believing all the horrible things stupid-head must have told him.

The other part didn't really blame Touya at all. He must have had a reason for not telling her. The bad part was, she couldn't really think of a good reason for him to have done that. That meant that the problem was probably her. She thought back. Had she done something that would have made him think she wouldn't accept him? As far as she'd known, she'd been pretty tolerant of most things. Now, some people back in Arizona wouldn't have been, especially where they had lived. Did he think she would have been like some of their nice-but-judgmental neighbors? It all made her headache so much worse.

What's that? How exactly did she suddenly know that her brother was gay you ask?

Well, Yukito had made it pretty obvious. First off, he wanted to make a good impression on her. It had seemed strange then, but it made perfect sense now. Sakura was the first of Touya's relatives that Yukito had met (she certainly didn't remember him ever coming to their house in Arizona). Then he won an argument with Touya, and rather quickly at that. Again, only their father had ever been able to accomplish that. Actually, now that she thought about it, Yukito kind of reminded her of her father. She'd heard before that girls fall for guys who remind them of their dads (yeah, creepy). Maybe it worked that way for gay guys, too…? Anyways, back on subject. Oh, yeah, the kicker. The mystery behind Touya's decision to work in Forks instead of someplace that actually made sense was crystal clear now. She had to hand it to him; her brother must be really dedicated to this guy to deal with this crazy town.

Touya's life seemed to make more sense to her now. He'd never brought a girl home for their father to meet or anything. For a while, Sakura had thought that no girl wanted to date him since he was kind of a jerk sometimes. When she visited his school though, she realized that he was actually pretty popular—especially with the girls. He never showed any interest though. Again, Sakura attributed this to his nature. It was in middle school that the suspicions started to form in her mind, and by high school they were full-blown theories. But, as stated before, there wasn't really any evidence to support her wild ideas. Fujitaka being so understanding about letting him move all the way out here made much more sense now, too.

Yeah, that headache was getting to be pretty bothersome. Maybe a couple of Tylenol would be a good idea.

Trying to be as silent as possible, she tiptoed down the stairs. Of course they didn't keep their medicine in, you know, the medicine cabinet in the bathroom; that would be far too easy. No, it had to be in one of the cupboards in the kitchen. And one had to go through the living room to get to said kitchen… which, in turn, meant that one had to sneak past Touya on the couch. And that meant a whole lot of super special fun time for Sakura.

A couple of horribly long minutes later, she was crawling behind the sofa. If she craned her neck to look up, she could see the back of Touya's head; the front was enjoying the static-filled game on the outdated television. The kitchen was dead ahead. Just a couple more feet and she'd be on her way to some good ol' pain relief. Unfortunately, she'd never really been that great at sneaking around. Or maybe Touya was just that good at catching her.

"Did that knock to the head impede your ability to walk normally, or do you think you're a cat again?"

She yelped a bit. Slowly, she looked up to see Touya looking at her over the couch with a rather annoyed expression (y'know, the whole one eyebrow raised thing). "Hey, I was really drugged up after that visit to the dentist," she protested as she started to stand, though it didn't come out as strong as it normally would have. Touya seemed to notice.

"What's up?"

She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes, so she stared at the kitchen instead. "I was just going to get some Tylenol."

He crossed his arms. "And that requires sneaking around because…?" When she didn't offer any sort of response, he sighed and stalked into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with a glass of water and two of the pain killers. She thanked him softly and took them. He stared at her as she gulped them down with help from the water. "So, are you going to tell me what's really going on?"

Darn him for being perceptive. And darn her for not being able to conceal her emotions well. Desperate to avoid answering, she used continuously sipping at her water as an excuse to not answer. Unfortunately, he seemed perfectly fine with waiting, and her water glass was getting closer and closer to empty….

Someone up there was merciful. The phone happened to ring just then. She gulped down the last of the liquid. "I'll get it!" she said hastily and made her retreat to the other end of the living room. She didn't care who it was, as long as she didn't have to spend another moment under Touya's scrutinizing gaze. Without another thought, she picked it up. "Hello?"

"Sakura!" Tomoyo's voice rang out. Okay, so maybe she should have cared who was calling. Next to Yukito, and maybe Kurogane, this was probably the worst case scenario for her at the moment. "I'm sorry I didn't make it to the clinic before you left; I had the bad limo today, and it decided to give out two minutes after we left the school parking lot. Are you and Syaoran alright?"

She sighed and held her head in her hand. Couldn't the medication work any faster? "I'm fine. I didn't see Syaoran afterwards—Touya took me home after I was done—but Yukito said that he seemed okay." _Please let that_ _be all and hang up now._

"Good," Tomoyo said on the other end, but she didn't sound any less worried. "Oh, Sakura, I'm so sorry. You and Syaoran could have been seriously hurt. If that had happened…"

Crap. It didn't seem like this was ending soon. She repressed the urge to sigh again. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about, it wasn't your fault," she said mechanically. "I personally blame the snow and ice. And Forks, because I'm pretty sure this town hates me," she added. Apparently, though, that hate had turned into a bloodlust.

It was quiet on the other end for a minute. At last, Tomoyo said something. "Sakura, have you seen the news?"

"No, Touya's been watching the game and I've been trying to rest." It looked like it was going to be up to her to end the call. "Listen, Tomoyo, I'm really tired and it's been kind of a long day. If you don't mind, I'm going to try and get some sleep, 'kay?"

"Yes, but Sakura, I really think you should watch—"

"Goodnight, Tomoyo." Just like that, she hung up the receiver. Yeah, it was rude. Sure, she'd feel horrible about it later. But, right now, she really didn't care. All she cared about was the bed waiting in her room and blocking out anything that had to do with werewolves or vampires or homosexual brothers.

She turned to find Touya standing a ways away, watching her still. Nope. She was not going to give in, not tonight. She knew they'd have to talk sometime, but she really, really hoped that sometime would not be anytime soon. So, she trudged past him, muttered a simple, "G'night," and went up the stairs to her room.

* * *

She had forgotten about Yukito's note to Touya until she was woken up a mere two hours after she had fallen asleep. Groggily, she answered his questions about what day it was and what had happened that day. When he was satisfied, he let her go back to sleep for about another two hours. Then the process repeated. Let's just say it wasn't the restful, rejuvenating night she had hoped for. And that certainly didn't help her mood the following morning when she stayed up.

She thanked her lucky stars that Touya had gone into work already. More of the awkwardness of last night would not have been a good way to start off the day. Thankfully, it was the weekend, which meant that she pretty much had free rein. The best idea probably would have been to go see her friends (and apologize to Tomoyo for last night). The idea she went with was not quite as good, but a lot more comfortable and less likely to put her in need of more pain killers.

She was finally going to do it. It was mid-November, and she was finally going to buy some freaking warmer clothes. After telling herself over and over again that a trip to the big city was necessary and putting it off just as many times, she was going to take her run-down Chevy to Seattle for a day of mindless shopping. Sure, she had kind of wanted to do this with Tomoyo before, but right now she figured this as good a time as any. Some alone time would benefit her, and driving always helped calm her down. It was perfect for today.

She slipped into a pair of nice jeans and one of the very few sweaters she owned before grabbing a cold PopTart, her keys, her wallet and heading out. Yeah, it was cold, and the Chevy didn't have the best heating system in the world, but it worked. She felt more relaxed on her drive than she had in a while. The traffic was sparse, which made it all the better, and luckily the skies hadn't opened up yet. All in all, it was just a good (albeit, long) drive. Hoping she wouldn't jinx herself, she silently hoped that, for once, the day could continue in the same direction.

Seattle was just as gray as Forks, but not nearly as green. It was good to see a more urban place for a change. There were plenty of cars on the street here, and even quite a few brave souls who dared to venture outside (they, of course, were properly dressed in many layers). After a while of driving around, she saw a promising little shop on Main Street. It took a few more minutes to find a decent place to park (and she had to parallel park, too; yeah, gross), but eventually she was entering the place.

It was perfect. All of the clothes on the racks were meant for cold winter livin'. They looked pretty nice, too, and had a moderate price tag. She didn't need too much, just a couple more sweaters and maybe a jacket that actually provided some kind of insulation. She wasn't going to give her brother a reason to talk to (AKA scold) her about spending oodles of cash.

She wasn't sure how long she spent there, but it must have been a good couple of hours. She took her time trying on things that she liked and gave herself a nice big selection to choose from. It wasn't every day that she got to come up here; she figured it was fine if she wanted to enjoy herself a little. In the back of her mind, though, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Tomoyo loved clothes, much more than Sakura ever could, and she would have demanded a fashion show if she was there. It would have been fun, and Tomoyo certainly could have offered some valuable advice on which ones to get.

Sakura had never really been mad at her friend. It was more disappointment, she guessed. Tomoyo had had the perfect opportunity to tell her Kurogane was a werewolf after they saw the movie, and instead she kept it hidden. She was sure Tomoyo hadn't done it to be cruel; it was probably just another one of those things, much like she'd done with Fai. It still hurt, though, to know that her friend wasn't being completely honest with her. And Sakura doubted that those were the only things she wasn't being open about.

Still, though… She'd make sure she came here again soon with Tomoyo, even if they didn't buy anything, just to have a night on the town.

Eventually, she did pick out what she wanted and purchased them. Now she could finally check this off of her list of things to do. It was great to know that she wouldn't have to plan out a week ahead what she would wear so that she could try to get the most days as possible wearing sweaters. That had just been plain annoying. She could have sworn some of the girls had given her strange looks for wearing the same three sweaters over and over again, too.

When she got back to her car, she found out it was only three o'clock. Well, she had time to spare. This was her first time in Seattle, and she wasn't going to leave now. Might as well have a look around and enjoy the sights, right? She pulled her new jacket out of one of the plastic bags, ripped off the tag, put it on and, feeling more like a resident of Washington than she ever had, walked out into the streets.

* * *

Worst. Idea. Ever.

She didn't care how long she stayed here; she would never, ever, _ever_ get used to the cold. Sakura had been walking around the city for a while. By the time dusk started to settle, she decided she'd roughed it for long enough. It was high time for her to return to the comfort of her Chevy and begin the long trek home.

Speaking of time, she had no idea how late it actually was. Instinctively, she reached for her back jean pocket… only to find it empty. Ah crap. She must have forgotten to pick up her cell phone before heading out. That made it final. She had to get home in case anyone had tried to get in touch with her; they'd think she'd fallen off the face of the earth. And if that person had been Touya… she shuddered at the thought.

Luckily, she hadn't wandered too far away from her parking spot, since she hadn't the greatest faith in her sense of direction. It should only take a couple of minutes to get back. Sure enough, the little shop she had visited earlier came into view not too long after she had decided to turn back, which meant her truck was just further ahead. Strange though… she hadn't noticed any blinking neon signs before.

It wasn't until she got closer that she noticed the flashing red and blue lights weren't coming from a shop at all. A good many police cruisers, much nicer ones than the one Touya drove, were pulled up in front, along with an ambulance. Surrounding the shop and keeping a gathering crowd at bay was the famed yellow police tape that the officers were just finishing putting up. Whatever had happened, it hadn't gone down too long ago.

Curious, she tried to maneuver her way through the mass of people that had already formed behind the tape. She had just reached the front row when a stretcher was brought out of the boutique. It was apparent there was a body on it, though nothing could be seen underneath the sheet they had placed over it. Sakura's gut flip-flopped. A sheet didn't mean good news. The men carrying it started hoisting it into the back of the ambulance, but seemed to be having some trouble. Thanks to all of the jostling, the sheet fell a bit, revealing the head and shoulders of the victim. The blood in Sakura's veins seemed to turn to ice as she laid eyes on the sickeningly pale girl, probably no older than she. Her gaze was steered towards her neck. In horrible contrast to her waxy skin was a large smear of red. That wasn't the worst part though, and not what had Sakura struggling to stay upright.

In the midst of the crimson, right where the girl's jugular was, were two dark puncture marks that Sakura could only guess belonged to two elongated not-so-human canines.

* * *

**A/N: As a couple of you have noted, I'm straying from the Twilight plot quite a bit. This is kind of going to have Twilight parts thrown in to the plot to shape it rather than follow the storyline of the books completely. I hope that's fine with you guys. In other news, I'm going to be on vacation starting at the end of this week, and then right after I come back I have drum major camp. I'll try to write as much of the next chapter as I can in the next two days and see if I can get it up before I leave, since I don't like leaving you guys hanging for so long, but if it doesn't happen... let me say "sorry" in advance. Ooh, and did you hear? FLOTP broke 1,000 views with the last chapter! I know it may not be much to some of you guys with your hundred plus review stories, but I see it as a milestone. Thanks to everyone who has read this and made my heart grow three sizes. And on to the team results (I may have done creative math, but it's pretty accurate...)!**

**Team Fai: 2  
Team Kurogane: 2  
Team Syaoran:** **3**

* * *

_**Next time**_

_So… yeah. It turns out that this isn't the first time something like this has happened in Seattle. Maybe hanging up on Tomoyo hadn't been the best idea after all…. _


	9. Pushing Buttons—That Was Easy

**Heya, guys and gals. I thought I would have enough time to write up the next chapter between the end of my vacation and the beginning of camp... but it didn't exactly work out. I would have felt absolutely horrible though if I left you guys with nothing... so, luckily, this was already typed up. I had planned on adding it a little later in the story, but... ah well. It could really come in anywhere, I suppose, though it would have been better a bit later. Once I finish the story, I'll probably switch the chapters around until I have it where I want. For now, though, enjoy this kind-of-sort-of-stand-alone chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Umm... I have less than an hour and a half before I leave for camp. Let's hope CLAMP and Stephanie Meyer wouldn't leave something to the last minute like this.**

* * *

"Look at all the stuffed animals!"

Sakura pressed her nose up against the glass of the machine. Dozens of plush toys were piled on top of one another and filled the machine about halfway. They were all so cute! It was so sad that they were behind glass and metal, unable to be held and loved….

She, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane had all gone to the arcade. Who suggested this? None other than Tomoyo of course! There just happened to be an arcade at La Push (who would've guessed?), and when Tomoyo found out that Kurogane had never been, she planned a trip for everyone to go. At first Sakura had been a little hesitant (though Kurogane was by far the most reluctant), but after she started playing the games she rekindled her old love for arcades. She supposed she was right about La Push meaning "The Plush Toy," after all.

Tomoyo peered in beside her. She leaned away and smiled at her friend. "Do you want to play 'THE CLAW,' Sakura?"

She clenched her fists. "I've never once won this game, but today will be the different!" She heard Tomoyo applauding in the background.

Ignoring the looks of everyone else in the arcade (who were probably wondering why a high-schooler would be so excited to play 'THE CLAW'), Sakura dropped her last coin down the slot and pressed the start button. The machine roared to life (with weird carnival music). Concentrating as much as a carton of OJ, she positioned the fabled claw over a cute… thing with beady little eyes. She pressed the button just as the time was starting to run out. The claw dropped and then grabbed the toy by the leg.

"Sakura, you got it! Brava!"

Carefully, she lifted it out of the pile and started to lead it towards the drop-off. She released the button! — a little too early. The toy hit the side of the drop-off, but fell the wrong way, back into the pit of toys.

She stared, open-mouthed at the machine. Tomoyo patted her shoulder sympathetically. "You were very, very close. It was a valiant effort."

Sakura sighed. "Ah well. I guess I'll never get one of those cute plush toys."

She retreated back to the other arcade games for a while. She was in the middle of playing/failing at one of those Japanese dance games when someone tapped her shoulder. Since she would probably get a better score if she weren't on the dance floor, she hopped off… only to find two beady eyes staring at her.

"Sakura, what do you think you're doing, playing games?" the stuffed toy shouted at her. "We have work to do!"

Her eyes spun. "An accent…?" She stepped back. Tomoyo smiled from behind the toy and waved it around.

"I thought it fit," she said simply.

At last, Sakura recognized the toy as the one she had tried to win; the yellow-orange lion thing with wings. The next second, it was plopped into her hands. "Tomoyo, you won it?"

"Of course! I couldn't bear to watch you be so distressed after being cheated by 'THE CLAW,' so I gave it a try."

Sakura found herself panicking. "How many tries did it take? I promise, I'll pay you back every quarter you spent."

"One."

"… One?"

She laughed the classic Tomoyo laugh. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure it was just beginner's luck." Suddenly, a wicked smile spread across her face. "I wonder if anyone else is lucky today…"

Tomoyo was… smirking. That couldn't be good. Whatever it was, she hoped it didn't involve her… or getting thrown out of the arcade.

Deciding it would be best to make sure her friend didn't do anything too terribly drastic, she followed her as she weaved through the people. Apparently, she had found what she was looking for, for she took off suddenly. Sakura completely lost sight of her for a minute.

Holy crap, who would've guessed she was that fast? As far as Sakura knew, she'd always had an excuse to skip gym (using the time to record Sakura). She'd always assumed Tomoyo wasn't good at physical activities.

When she finally caught up to her, she was already clearly up to something. She was talking to Syaoran, who had stopped playing a game that simulated an archeological dig, using exaggerated movements.

She walked up next to them. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry, Sakura, I'll get it for you," Syaoran said with conviction.

"… Get what?"

Tomoyo smiled innocently, which was a bad sign. "A stuffed toy from 'THE CLAW,' for your collection, of course!"

She wondered how in the world Tomoyo knew about her being a closeted plushie collector.

Without a chance to say another word, Tomoyo dragged poor Syaoran over to the game. Heck, they were both fast! And she thought she was pretty good at sports….

He dropped a coin in and pressed start. Sakura felt guilt bubbling up in her throat. "Syaoran, there's really no need, I already—"

"Shh!" She stared at Tomoyo. Had she really just been shushed? "Syaoran's concentrating. Don't you want him to win?" She smiled coyly at Sakura before watching the game again.

She felt her face heat up. "O-Of course I—" The words caught in her throat. Damn her. Why did she always have to make Sakura so uncomfortable? She was going to get payback, somehow….

"Got it!" she heard Syaoran exclaim. When Sakura looked, he actually had a smile on his face. She decided he looked a lot better when he smiled. He dragged the claw over the bin and released, the stuffed toy "thudding" at the bottom. He reached in and held it out to Sakura. "I… I hope you like it. I didn't know which one you'd want."

Sakura hadn't been paying attention to the toy, actually. Once she finally saw it though, she thought it was absolutely adorable. It looked like a really pudgy white rabbit-thing with closed eyes and a plastic red jewel on its forehead.

And then the guilt came again.

"Oh, Syaoran, thank you. But," she lifted the lion-thing plushie. "Tomoyo won me this already. I'm really sorry."

He just blinked. "It doesn't really matter that you have one already. I won this one for you not because I felt bad for you. I won it because I wanted to get it for you." Apparently he realized how cheesy he sounded, because the next moment he was blushing like crazy. "P-Plus I… I really wouldn't know what to do with it. But if you don't want it, i-it's fine too…"

Next thing he knew, it was taken from him. Sakura hugged it, along with the other plushie. "If that's the case, then thank you Syaoran! It's so cute! I love it."

She didn't think it was possible for him to get any redder, but now he looked like a tomato on fire. Maybe he had a fever…? She was sure he was about to turn and run, but then he saw the two people approaching them.

Well… kind of. One was skipping.

"C'mon, Kuro-woof, everyone's over here! Don't you want to be part of the fun?" Fai tugged on his arm, but Kurogane sauntered at his usual pace.

"Hell no, I don't! Because of you, I lost that game after I had gotten all the way to the final level. You just had to push the button, didn't you?" he growled.

Fai stopped in his tracks, aghast. "But of course! Button's are meant to be pushed, silly Kuro-doggy!"

"And would you stop with those retarded names already? They're not funny."

"I think they're funny," Tomoyo chimed in helpfully.

Kurogane looked like he was going to explode once he finally joined the others. Sakura couldn't really blame him, though she secretly thought the names were cute and funny too.

"So, what is everyone doing over here?" Fai asked, genuinely interested. He looked like he'd been having fun, which was a relief to Sakura. His smile always seemed a little forced. It was good to see it when it was natural.

Sakura held out the two prizes she had been given. "Tomoyo and Syaoran won these for me! Aren't they amazing?"

"That one looks like a manjuu bun…"

"They are amazing, Sakura! Would you mind if I won you one, too?" Fai asked. "I still have a couple of quarters left, anyway, and it's nearly time we started to head back."

"O-Of course you can play," Sakura started. Why was everyone so intent on giving her things? "But, you don't have to give it to me."

His eyes twinkled. "What else would I do with it? Unless Kuro-puppy wanted it for a present."

Sakura took a step back as Kurogane swung at Fai's head. Fai easily dodged, but Sakura couldn't imagine what the damage would have been like if it had connected. Kurogane was pretty ripped, after all.

Fai played the game, and had won a toy in about five seconds flat. "Well, that was easy. Hee hee, I sounded like that commercial! _That's_ a button that's supposed to be pushed, Kuro-woof," he pointed out as he reached in to grab the toy.

"Wow, Fai, you're very good at this game," Tomoyo praised.

"Beginner's luck," he told her as he finally pulled the toy out of the machine. "I didn't really have the chance to go to arcades as a kid. Here you are, Sakura!"

This toy looked exactly like the one Syaoran had gotten her, except that it was black with a blue jewel instead of white with a red one. Fai put a hand on her shoulder and leaned down a bit so that they were eye-to-eye (he was much taller, after all). "Now, Sakura. You have to keep the black one and the white one together, okay? If they were separated, I'm sure they'd be very sad. Especially the black one, even though he'd never show it."

She wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but it didn't even bother her that she was being talked to like a child. Because it was Fai. "I will! Thank you so much, Fai!" She was lucky all the toys were pretty small, because she hadn't brought a bag with her.

Finally she noticed that nobody was talking. Actually, Tomoyo and Fai were shooting nasty looks at Kurogane.

"Well…?" Tomoyo asked.

"Well, what?" he snapped, crossing his arms.

"Aren't you going to get a toy for Sakura?" she asked. Sakura decided in that moment that Tomoyo could be frightening. Truly, truly frightening.

Kurogane apparently thought the same thing. She didn't miss his foot inch back. "She doesn't really need anymore. Besides, I don't have any more quarters."

Sakura thought now might be a useful time to chime in. "Kurogane's right, I can't really carry more than these."

Fai held up a quarter, but clicked his tongue in disgust. "Who would have guessed Kuro-tail-between-his-legs would have let a vampire outshine him in a children's arcade game."

And he exploded. Or at least, that's what Sakura saw in her mind. In reality, he snatched the quarter from Fai and, muttering quite a few choice words to himself, started the machine up. There couldn't be a doubt Kurogane was the competitive type; even playing "THE CLAW," he was focused and determined. He just about had it where he wanted it—

—When Fai pushed the button.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Fai smiled sweetly. "You were taking too long. See, you're time's almost up."

"I knew that," he huffed. He turned back to the game, obviously pissed, and dropped the toy into the bin. When he pulled the toy out, his expression was unreadable.

"… What the hell is this?"

Tomoyo started giggling happily. Syaoran bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. Sakura… didn't get the joke yet.

But that's why Fai was here.

"It's a doggie!" he trilled, pointing to the blue toy dog with beady eyes. "Get it? Since you're Kuro-doggie!"

Sakura was mentally preparing herself for Fai's funeral. Strangely (and surprisingly) enough, he bit back his rage and tossed the stuffed dog at Sakura. She caught it (also surprising), and stared at him.

He grunted in the usual noncommittal Kurogane way. "It wasn't the one I was trying to get, but I guess this one's good enough."

Wow. He was being nice. She always knew he could be, but she just never thought he _would_ be, especially towards her. "Thank you, Kurogane! I like it all the same. Plus, this way, I'll always know which one you got!"

His face became clouded. Fai simply laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. So, Kurogane did the only logical action: chase Fai around threatening to throttle him.

Woops. She probably shouldn't have mentioned that….

Everyone went over to cash in their tickets. Well, everyone except Sakura. She had another idea.

* * *

"Sakura!" She looked up to see Tomoyo waving at her. "We're all going to get our picture taken! Hurry, before Kurogane escapes!"

She ran over, inhaled sharply, then held something out to Tomoyo. It was a black panther/kitty looking thing with fairy wings. Actually, it looked like this one and the yellow lion thing were made by the same company. Tomoyo looked at her with a surprised expression.

"You did so much for me today, so I thought you deserved this," Sakura told her cheerfully. "I found a quarter lying right in front of 'THE CLAW,' so I figured it was fate. I tried again, and… it kind of didn't work out." She shrugged. "But then this really pretty girl with blonde hair and glasses just slipped a quarter in and told me to enjoy myself, that it was 'her treat.' And that time, I got this!"

Tomoyo blushed. This was the first time Sakura had seen Tomoyo when she wasn't completely in control of the situation, or planning to be. "T-Thank you, Sakura. I… I really don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything!" she told her, smiling encouragingly. "C'mon, I can hear Kurogane's shouts from here. It won't be long until he becomes an Animorph again." She grabbed Tomoyo's hand and led her towards the photo booth.

Tomoyo smiled perfectly for all the pictures, but she was glad it was dark when they left the arcade. Her stomach felt queasy. What if things didn't turn out the right way? It seemed things here were always changing… and Sakura was right in the middle of all of it.

_I'm sorry, Sakura-chan…_

* * *

**A/N: Well… that turned out a little bit more serious than I originally intended. Hm. Well, either way, I hope you enjoyed the cameos of our favorite plushies-that-aren't-plushies. In case you didn't know, the plushies in order of appearance were Kero (CCS), Mokona (Sol - TRC), Mokona (Larg -xxxHolic), Ioryogi (Kobato.), and Spinel Sun(CCS). Oh, and the blonde girl Sakura mentioned? Why, it's none other than Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth! Sorry, had to add her in for a short part; the situation was too similar to Hikaru's to not do it!**

_**This **_**time, Tomoyo was actually supposed to use the honorific. This isn't another mess-up like before (I still have to fix that...). The question is... why in the world would she? Questions? Theories? I'd love to hear them!**

**That's it for now, I still have a couple of things to pack. I'll update the Team Wars standings next chapter. As always, thank you all for reading and reviewing. A special shout out goes to Ocean Starfly, who took the time to send love my way by reviewing every chapter. That was pretty awesome. Anyone who reviews is pretty freaking awesome in my book, actually. What's that? You want to partake in the awesomeness? Simply review; I swear it takes less time than signing up for Geico. **

**Until next time, my wonderful readers!**


End file.
